Kobe Bryant played his last game at the Oracle Arena in California, although the outcome was hardly surprising. The Lakers lost yet again (116–98) but it was more of how Kobe left the arena that made headlines.
As most players who want to personally see Bryant off before the season ends, the Golden State Warrior's "Big Three" approached the Lakers star guard and exchanged pleasantries.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green alternated to converse with Bryant. It was, however, Bryant's acknowledgement and eventual challenge to them that deserved some attention.
Bryant is, apparently, aware of the breakthrough that the Warriors have had, perhaps because their interim head coach right now is someone Bryant played with before — Luke Walton.
Bryant simply advised them to continue to do what they are doing and make history. Coming from someone who holds five National Basketball Association (NBA) rings, such means a lot to the trio who are at the forefront of the Warriors' campaign.
The Warriors are aiming to make it back-to-back and at the rate they are going, such is possible.
Standing in their way are, however, teams who are no pushovers. The San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Houston Rockets may not be streaking but do carry the necessary manpower to stop the Warriors from repeating as NBA champions.
The true battle will, of course, start when the playoffs begin. The only thing the Warriors can carry over at that point is perhaps home court advantage. Other than that, the real grind begins as they try to defend and repeat as NBA champions.
With Bryant's message, such is expected to fire up the three and the whole Warriors squad to strive even more. The team is simply running on a well-oiled system right now, and if that keeps up, they are certainly a hard team to topple.
