West thumps East in Kobe Bryant’s final All-Star Game

The West All-Stars breezed past the East All-Stars, 196-173, to conclude the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities that set the stage for a fitting tribute to retiring superstar Kobe Bryant.

The annual showcase played in Toronto, Canada for the first time centered on Bryant who played in a record 18th All-Star appearance. A video montage showing the highlights of his 20-year career was showed before the game in a ceremony em-ceed by Lakers great Magic Johnson.

“I just want to thank you guys for all your support all these years,” Bryant told the “Ko-be!” chanting crowd.

“I’ve just been extremely fortunate to play the game I love and be in the NBA for over half my life.”

“He’s the Michael Jordan of our era,” said Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, an Eastern All-Star who like Bryant hails from Philadelphia.

“He’s the most competitive a lot of us have played against. And the things he’s done throughout his career and the things he’s done to change the game and motivate other players is unbelievable.”

Bryant, the top vote-getter in the All-Star Game, finished with 10 points, six boards and seven assists as his younger counterparts stole the spotlight.

Russell Westbrook won the NBA All-Star MVP award for the second straight year after piling up 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“We were just playing lockup defense at the end,” said Russell, although for the most part defense wasn’t part of the program at the Air Canada Centre, where the annual exhibition was being held outside US borders for the first time.

Reigning NBA MVP scored 26 points, Anthony Davis had 24 while Kevin Durant and James Harden each had 23 markers. Chris Paul also collected 16 assists to go along with 14 points.

East’s Paul George top-scored the game with 41 points, one shy of tying the record for the most points made in an All-Star Game.

He just missed the All-Star single-game record of 42 points set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962.

It was a night of soaring dunks and long-range bombs all adding up to unprecedented numbers.

The 369 total points was an All-Star Game record, as was the West’s 196 total and their 104 points in the second half.

The Western Conference made a record 31 three-pointers — including seven apiece from Westbrook and James Harden and six from Curry.

source: interaksyon.com

Kobe Bryant sees Olympic gold a ‘beautiful’ ending to his career

Kobe Bryant says he’s not pushing to play on the US Olympic team in Rio, but the retiring Los Angeles Lakers guard said Monday it would make a “beautiful” ending to his 20-year career.

The 37-year-old American guard, a five-time NBA champion and gold medal winner at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, announced last month this would be his final NBA campaign after a historic career.

After battling nagging injuries for years, Bryant is fit but the Lakers are in a rebuilding mode and at 4-23 have the second-worst record in the NBA.

Missing the playoffs could leave Bryant rested and in form to become the first man in Olympic history to win three basketball gold medals, should he earn a spot on the two-time defending champion American squad.

“It’s not something I’m absolutely pressing for but being part of the Olympic experience is a beautiful thing,” Bryant said.

“It would be a beautiful thing to finish my career playing internationally. But that being said we will see how it goes.”

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams would also have the chance for an unprecedented men’s Olympic hat-trick at Rio, but for Bryant it would be a golden farewell.

“I try to look at my legacy as much as how do I impact the future, not where do I rank among the best players all time,” Bryant said when asked where he fell among NBA icons.

“It’s a moot point and for me it’s pretty much of a shallow argument. It’s how do I impact the generation of players coming in by what I have done. I think it has impacted the generation coming in a big way and they will pass that along to the next generation to come.”

Bryant, a 17-time NBA All-Star, was speaking ahead of his record-setting 16th career appearance in a Christmas NBA matchup, his Lakers hosting the rival Los Angeles Clippers on December 25. He is the all-time leader in scoring for games on the holiday.

Bryant has been nagged by injuries in recent seasons and is struggling with a sore right shoulder. He is averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game this season for the Lakers, with career averages of 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

“I would have loved to have played overseas but it’s not going to happen. Body won’t let me,” Bryant admitted.

“My body has been through a lot. And it’s very easy to forget I haven’t played because of it. My timing is off, my rhythm is off. It was about me continuing my training and believing my timing will come back and that’s what happened.”

Bryant said he expects the megastar trend of the NBA to continue in the wake of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and himself, saying, “I think there’s going to be a player in the next 10 years that’s going to rise above it all.”

Rising Aussie star

As bad as this season is going, the Lakers could be in position for the top pick in next year’s NBA Draft, and that could be Australian forward Ben Simmons, who is averaging 18.7 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game this season as a freshman at Louisiana State University.

“He’s a tremendous player. He has got a lot of potential,” Bryant said of Simmons.

But Bryant warned that the Lakers carry a history of success that must be respected by those who would join them.

“It’s not about handing over the keys,” Bryant said. “For the players that are here, winning championships is the only goal. That’s the attitude.”

Bryant, who spent some of his youth in Italy, said he plans to be a global ambassador for the sport, naming Singapore and Africa as two of his planned destinations.

“I definitely plan on helping the game spread and helping kids all around the world understand all that surrounds the game and its potential,” Bryant said. “I look forward to visiting places like Africa and teaching the game.”

FIFA bans an ‘important first step’
He also called the eight-year bans issued Monday to FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini an “important first step” in cleaning up global football.

The American spent several years as a youth in Italy playing football and supporting AC Milan. He follows the sport and was clear in his condemnation of Blatter and Platini, barred for abusing their positions over a suspect $2 million (1.8 million euro) payment.

“It’s always a touchy thing. You are dealing with a big business,” Bryant said.

“I think this is an important first step to cleaning up the sport.

“With life being as brutal as it is, we come to sport as an escape. When something like this happens, it damages the emotional Shangri-La you get from sport.”

Bryant had confidence that those making efforts to revamp FIFA in the wake of the corruption will succeed.

“I’m sure they are on top of it and I’m sure they will get the sport back where we all want it to be,” Bryant said.

source: interaksyon.com