It is now official! Kobe Bryant will be one of the starters for the West All Stars in what will be his last All Star appearance.
Kobe will be joined by Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard. On the other end, the official East All Star starters are LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Kyle Lowry and Paul George.
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With the stage set, Kobe recalls the All Star game back in 2003. At the time, it was Michael Jordan who was playing his last All Star game and Kobe was tasked to match up with him. And the Lakers star has never forgotten that time.
"One thing that Michael said was, ‘Just because it’s my last All-Star Game, I don’t want you to come out there going soft on me,'" Bryant shared in a report via Yahoo Sports. "'I want you to play me how you would normally play me.' I was like, 'Mike, what do you know about me that would lead you to tell me that?’”
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There is a glaring difference between then and now. Jordan was voted in as a reserve while Kobe is a starter. And for that, Kobe is very grateful.
“It’s a great honor. I didn’t expect it all. I’m very thankful for it, honestly,” says Bryant.
In 2003, the West defeated the East 155-145. Jordan led the losing squad with 20 markers which instilled him as the all-time scoring leader.
Now, it is Kobe’s time to come up with a good farewell performance. But that may not come easy.
Kobe continues to be slowed down by injuries, not to mention struggling offensively. He has noticeably slowed down but those are unlikely to keep him from strutting his wares in Toronto.
"It'll be a special All Star because this is Kobe's last run,'' says Dwyane Wade who is honored to be playing in the ASG against one of the NBA’s greats via ESPN.
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