On a lazy Sunday afternoon, bored, no sporting events scheduled, some unwatchable WWE matches the night before, I dozed off watching “Here and Now with Sandra Bookman.” I wake up and Gospel Fest is going off. Some guy with white hair named Rance Allen is actually rocking it out like the Trinity Baptist Church choir, my mom’s church uptown in the Bronx.
Surprisingly, the 2010 NBA Finals are replayed immediately after Allen closes out the show. It was Game 7, the Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the last game of the championship series from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Winner takes the chip.
It was the last time that these two teams, one of sports’ biggest rivalries, two of the NBA’s storied franchises, competed against each other in a postseason series.
The series had taken place 10 years ago, so there was no mystery as to who the winner was. The Lakers, the defending champions, 83-79 in the seventh game. It was a Lakers’ repeat, as they also won the year before defeating the Orlando Magic.
Lakers fans got another chance to boast and feel good about themselves. Celtic fans could shake their heads once again, thinking about how Boston blew it after being up 13 points in the third quarter. But fans of both teams and basketball fans in general may have been melancholy, slightly tearful, seeing Kobe Bryant winning his last championship, his last Bill Russell Award, the NBA Finals MVP Trophy, his second consecutive, while his three young daughters, all dressed in matching silver dresses with the Laker logo attached to the center, and wife Vanessa stood by his side as he hoisted the trophy given to him by Russell, the NBA’s elder statesman, and most decorated.
Even with this coronavirus hovering over us, wreaking havoc upon all of our lives, changing our normal existence, it’s hard to watch Bryant play and not think that he only had 10 years of living left, but it made you even more appreciative of the effort that he made on the court, of how he made the best of his opportunities. On the court, he gave it everything that he had to win, and he did which is why he’s so heralded today.
Bryant, who dropped 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds in 44:51 minutes, age 31 at the time, was aided by New York City legends Ron Artest’s 20 points and Lamar Odom’s 7 key points and 7 key rebounds, making it possible for him to win his fifth championship.
The game and series also featured the NBA’s winningest coach, Phil Jackson, coaching the Lakers, his last game ever in that position. It’s also the game in which Artest, also known as Metta World Peace, thanks his therapist during his post game television interview. The Celtics featured Hall Of Fame players Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen who had won a championship together two years before.
Bryant will be honored later this year posthumously as a 2020 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Hall of Fame ceremony, currently scheduled for August, is also set to honor Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Tim Hardaway, Mugsy Bogues and Tamika Catchings.
Bryant, who tragically passed away in January, retired in 2016, an 11-time All-NBA first-team selection, 2008 MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star and four-time All-Star MVP, spent his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.
“Every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a stepping stone to be here,” said Bryant’s wife. We’re incredibly proud of him.”
