Kobe Bryant has played for two decades in the NBA, and has faced some of the toughest opponents known to basketball, including Michael Jordan, LeBron James, the Celtics’ Big 3 and a string of touch Greg Popovich Spurs teams. However, it wasn’t until the Mamba ran into a Utah Jazz team trying desperately to make the playoffs last night, that he suffered what is currently the worst loss of his career.
The lowly Lakers lost last night’s contest by 48 points (123-75) in Utah, and Kobe was more than partially to blame. He played terribly, and scored 5 points on just 1-of-11 shooting in 27 minutes, while the Lakers as a whole didn’t score more than 21 points in any quarter. It was 2nd-year man Rodney Hood–who’s having a decent season, averaging 15 points and 3 assists/rebounds–who led the onslaught for the Jazz, pouring in 30 points, missing just 2 of the 13 shots he took (including 8-of-9 from behind the arc).
Kobe’s final season hasn’t been easy to watch, and there have been multiple bad performances of note, but with just 8 games left in his career, he’ll have to be pried off the hardwood.
