The Los Angeles Lakers’ 16th championship was secure following a gritty 83-79 victory over the Boston Celtics. Bryant’s legs may have been dead, but he didn’t stop running until the buzzer.
The two-time finals MVP has a ring for every finger on one hand precisely because he never slows down, even with injuries, the Celtics’ defense and his own erratic shot conspiring against him. That’s why this ring will have a special place in his collection, and this banner in the Staples Center rafters will loom a little larger than the rest to Kobe.