NBA Wednesday: Warriors win record 73rd game, Kobe Bryant says goodbye

During an exit interview with the media on Thursday, Nick Young talked about how amazing Kobe’s final game was. At one point, Young mentioned that Kobe, who was approached by a line of players waiting for his autograph, threw away Young’s pair of Adidas and fetched for some Nikes instead. (You can see his portion of the conference here, starting at 2:19:50 mark.)

Young didn’t come away empty-handed, though. Kobe eventually signed shoes for Young, but they were a pair of Nikes (aka the shoe brand he has a deal with), and Young’s son got to take a picture with him.

If you thought the star-studded, champagne-drenched Kobe extravaganza at the Staples Center was crazy last night, you should have seen the after-party.

Haha, just kidding. Kobe refused to go out so he could wake up early the next day to work.

We like round numbers in our sports, and Kobe Bryant left the NBA with a remarkable one. (Not the 50 shots, but that was fun, too!) I’m talking about something that every fan of every NBA team envies -- a milestone Kobe is the first to achieve, even if it will likely be matched soon.

Twenty years, all with the same team. The first to ever do it. And thus we dub this achievement “The Kobe.”

Kobe Bryant put an exclamation point on his NBA career, ending with a 60-point effort as the Lakers sent him off with a win. It was an unbelievable performance. Many thought Kobe would pull out a solid game. Maybe score 30 in his final game. Then he scored 40, then 50 then 60. Fans watching lost their minds as it all happened. They weren’t the only ones.

NBA players joined the Twitter party in watching, enjoying and celebrating Bryant’s farewell.

He even got Kanye to smile :)

It’s not the most field goals ever attempted, as Wilt Chamberlain attempted 63 shots when he scored 100. But since the stat started being tracked officially in the 1983-84 season, no one has ever taken 50 shots. Only six times have players taken more than 45 shots, with three of them belonging to Bryant. Before Bryant’s 50, the most attempts taken since 1985-86 was Michael Jordan with 49 field goal attempts. Of course Bryant would top Jordan in something in his final game ever.

None of that is detracting from what he did. In fact, this game on Wednesday could not have been more perfect. Think about it -- all of his career Bryant was criticized for shooting too much, for being a ball hog, et cetera, et cetera. In his final game to end his 20-year career, one where he’s the third-leading scorer and five-time NBA champion, his 50 shots led to SIXTY points and a win. Bryant was many, many things to many, many people. On his final night in the NBA, all you can ever say is that he went out on his own terms.

The Warriors made history. With a 125-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors have set a new record for most wins in a single NBA season with 73. They tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ previous record with a road win against their top challengers in San Antonio, then sealed the deal at home against Memphis on the final day of the season.

This new record is the perfect coronation for the most dominant regular-season run ever. The Warriors already shattered the record for best start in NBA history by winning their first 24 games and have posted one of the highest margins of victory the league has seen. It’s not surprising that they have reached 73 wins, something that not long ago seemed close to impossible to do.

Kobe finished the night shooting 22-of-50 from the field, 6-of-21 from three and 10-of-12 from the free throw line en route to his historic total. For the 37-year-old, it was the perfect way to leave the court after a legendary 20-year career that included many similar scoring outbursts, but none quite like this one.

It all started with the vintage drive that signaled what kind of night this would be.

Kobe Bryant has shown the Dodgers love before, throwing out the first pitch after one of his early 2000s championships. It’s only fitting they returned the love right back.

Curry needed eight threes against Memphis to set the record and hit 10 in the game. For most players, this would’ve been a nearly impossible task, but Steph isn’t like other players. His unmatched three-point total this season makes that quite clear. No other player in league history has hit even 300 threes in a single season.

Nos. 400 and 401 for Curry came quickly in the third quarter:

SURVEY SAYS NOT GOOD.

Things got slightly better, but not much!

We all knew Kobe Bryant’s last entrance as an active NBA player would be emotional, and we were right. We just didn’t know how emotional it would be. Prior to hitting the court one final time, the Lakers presented a video package. As the curtain drew, it grazed some of the Lakers players and startled them. Kobe maintained his composure.

The video showed Kobe being drafted, as well as an early interview with the late Chick Hearn. It listed his greatest accomplishments throughout the years, both as No. 8 and No. 24.

Kobe Bryant’s last game is tonight and there’s a mob outside Staples Center to see him go. Except that some of these people don’t even have tickets -- they’re just hanging out. Human beings in a mob. But what’s a mob to a king?

This one looks like a rock concert.

WHAT. There are some weird things associated with #MambaDay ... but Kobe as a flying helicopter? This is incredible.

Kobe showed up in a helicopter again for this game, as usual. Yes, if you were wondering, of course it’s branded with his Mamba logo and the Nike swoosh.

The last NBA game that Kobe Bryant will ever play is hours away. Those lucky enough to have tickets will get this shirt, handed out by the Lakers, in honor his finale. There have been and will be hundreds of tributes, but the simplicity and the subtle Mamba logo make this one of the cooler ones.

If you want one, I’m sure someone will be selling them on eBay for several hundred dollars within the hour.

As Kobe calls it a career, the world will look at that moment the way most modern events are viewed—through the wonderful lens of the Taiwanese Animators.

Who can forget the time Kobe Bryant engulfed his face and scalp with chia seeds, thereby transforming the young Lakers players, who had apparently been previously playing in diapers, into the afro-sporting sidekick alongside Shaq in the early 2000s?

In the lead up to Kobe Bryant’s final game, Nike’s been promoting the hell out of his special night. For the most part, their tribute to Kobe was generally having sponsored athletes wear “Black Mamba”-themed apparel, and in China, Nike and Kobe released a commercial specifically catered to his fans over there.

And now on Wednesday, Nike may have outdone themselves with a final commercial where Kobe, in the middle of a game where everyone’s booing him, gets into a dream sequence and becomes a musical conductor, prompting a handful of fans of different NBA teams to sing about how much they hate him.

The Golden State Warriors had a season for the ages one year ago. They won 67 games in the regular season, crowned Stephen Curry as an unlikely MVP and took home the NBA championship for the first time in 40 years.

Somehow, the Warriors have been even better this season.

Here are 11 times this has happened:

And he’s been extending the love to athletes of other sports, too: