The video tributes and standing ovations have played like a continuous loop. Kobe Bryant has greeted each opposing venue with warmth and nostalgia after they once welcomed him with boos and jeers.
But after the Lakers took a three-game trip all with stops Bryant visited for the last time, that farewell tour will not extend back to Los Angeles for at least one night. Bryant will sit out when the Lakers (11-48) host the Memphis Grizzlies (33-23) on Friday at Staples Center because of soreness in his right shoulder.
“It might have been one of those days where he slept wrong and woke up and it was a little sore,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said.