Once upon a time, one of the greatest clutch players of all-time had one of the least clutch NBA playoff performances of all-time.
The day was May 12th, 1997.
The event was Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-finals between the Utah Jazz and the LA Lakers.
The player was an 18-year-old rookie named Kobe Bryant.
The FAIL was (not one, not two, but) THREE airballs in the final minute of overtime and FOUR total, including the final seconds of the 4th quarter.
“I had some good looks,” Bryant said after the game, which became his defining moment. “I just didn’t hit the shots.”
For many, the most memorable shot from this game wasn’t one of those airballs, but the photo of “Big Brother” Shaq with his arms around his “Little Brother” after the final airball.
“I said, ‘You know what, you might have shot four airballs. See all these people in here laughing at you? Just remember that when we meet these guys next year.’ You’ve got to remember stuff like that.” Said Shaq about his pep talk with Kobe. “I wasn’t upset that he shot those airballs. He was the only one with enough guts to shoot the ball.”
Kobe finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting in 29 minutes.
But he wasn’t done shooting. After the game, the Lakers flew back to LA. While most of the players went back to their homes, Kobe Bryant went to a local high school (Palisades), found someone to open the doors for him, and shot jump shots all night and into the morning.
Six months later, the Lakers’ season tipped off with a game against the Utah Jazz. Shaq had to sit out because the league was investigating him slapping Jazz center Greg Ostertag during the morning shootaround.
KARL MALONE: “Before we could even respond, Ostertag’s on the ground looking for his contact. It ruined him for the rest of our career.”
Kobe didn’t get the start (I was not a fan of Coach Dell Harris), but he scored a game-high 23 points in the 104-87 win. Many of those points came from SportsCenter-worthy moves on every Jazz defender:
- And-1 dunk on Chris Morris
- Spin move and then a finger roll on Horny Hornacek
- Baseline drive and reverse layup on Shandon Anderson
- Spin move and dunk on Jacque Vaughn
Seventeen years later, it was only fitting that Kobe would also end his NBA career in a game against the Utah Jazz. And like his airball game in 1997, this game also ended with Shaq putting his arm around Kobe. But this time, it was to congratulate him on scoring 60 in his final clutch performance.
ALL OF KOBE’S GAME WINNERS
18 years after that 18-year old had one of the least clutch performances of all-time, a video showcasing all 36 of his career-game winners was released.
And he will be looking to bring in a top replacement such as the Argentinian ace or Chelsea forward Diego Costa.