Finally The Lakers Memorialized Kobe Bryant's Career By Wearing Socks With His Number Stitched Into Them

Whew, I was starting think it was going to happen. I was starting to think that Kobe Bryant was going to go silently into the night without the Lakers giving him the proper sendoff. Sure, the standing ovations and seemingly endless gifts are nice. I suppose it's an honor that he's the first athlete - possibly ever - that may have two different numbers retired. I guess you could say that the Byron Scott's decision to completely disregard the Lakers future in order to let Kobe do whatever the fuck he wants in his last season can be considered a recognition of all he's accomplished. Still, can't really say you commemorated an athlete achievements until you plaster his number on the back of the entire teams socks. If Derek Jeter's retirement tour taught us anything then it's that you can't celebrate a player's life unless you do things that are generally reserved for the recently deceased. Nothing speaks to the team-first attitude that Kobe embraced during his illustrious career like having the entire roster wear ankle high tributes to him and only him. It's a well known fact that sweat isn't self-absorbed. Those socks may be dedicated to one person, but they certainly aren't self serving. Pretty sure they just willed the team to victory over the Warriors in what was potentially the biggest upset in NBA history. Sadly, that's actually as good of a reason for that outcome as any.