Philadelphia 76ers finally got their first win of the season after beating Los Angeles Lakers the other day.
However, that is not the highlight of day for some of its players. Their biggest takeaway in the game was facing off against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant who just announced this season will be his last.
Top draft pick of 2015 Jahlil Okafor, who scored 12 in the game, describes seeing Kobe Bryant close up as something like "seeing a god."
"It's just different," Okafor said after the match. "I've played against LeBron James twice, you see [Kevin Durant], but when you see Kobe, it's just a different feel. I was in the weight room stretching, and he walks in. It was like you're seeing, like, a God, kind of, in a sense. For me, that was my Michael Jordan. That was somebody that I always watched. You see him score 81 points, you see him win championships, and I was always rooting for him to win, so it was surreal to see him."
There is a high level of excitement at the Wells Fargo Center. Bryant, who hails from Lower Merion in Philadelphia, has just announced this season will be his last and it is understandable that the young 76ers squad can't help themselves but get starstruck by the 20-year veteran.
"You could almost see a youthful smile on Jerami [Grant] and Isaiah [Canaan] as Kobe just started burying 3s," Philly coach Brett Brown said. "You forget that Jahlil [Okafor] hadn't even been born when Kobe entered the league. And so youth all over the place and starstruck watching Kobe Bryant. And Kobe, as we all know, commands that type of stage and respect, but I thought initially our guys were a little starstruck."
Kobe Bryant received tribute from his hometown at the start of the match. While the game is ongoing, he also felt players' admiration of him.
"When I came out and made three in a row, I could sense they were like, 'I really don't want to touch him ... and 'Holy crap! Is this going to be an 81-[point] situation?'" Bryant said after his team's 103-91 loss. "You know what I mean? Like, 'I really don't know what to do.' And I'm just sitting there thinking, 'Man, I'm just playing possum because I know my legs aren't going to carry this energy for 48 minutes.' But certainly I could sense a little bit of that."
