Even at 34 and with a hand full of rings, the Black Mamba was never satisfied.
Gunning for the 8th seed in a stacked Western Conference, Kobe Bryant had played 226 out of a possible 240 minutes in five games in April. Mike D’Antoni’s banged up squad had won 8 of their last 9 games to get back in the playoff picture.
The night of the 13th wasn’t any different, with a frisky Golden State team also gearing up for the playoffs.
And despite hyperextending his knee in the first half – and nursing a sprained ankle – Kobe stayed on the court every possible second until a run-of-the-mill drive to the hoop that would change the trajectory of his career forever.