After a rough start to his 20th season in the NBA, a 37-year-old Kobe Bryant confirmed in a Players Tribune essay published Sunday night that this year will be his last.
It’s probably not a surprise to most NBA fans given his injuries in recent years, but an end to a career doesn’t mean an end to cardboard, either. In fact, we’re probably just getting started with this Panini America spokesman.
One of Buzz’s favorite Kobe cards isn’t his super-pricey 1996-97 Topps Chrome Rookie Card — one Buzz once pulled and traded away for a 1983 Topps football wax box and some cash (that’s a story for a different day) — it’s this simple 2012-13 Panini Kobe Anthology card.
It’s card No. 2 in a 201-card set and one that can be had for pocket change in some areas. It’s among many Kobe cards Buzz has sitting in a box — not even sleeved or top-loaded — but it was the first card Buzz thought about.
Why? It’s one of very few cards to show Bryant as a member of the Charlotte Hornets — the team that originally drafted him before he requested a trade and went on to deliver as a phenom destined to be a legend. What’d the Hornets get for him? The esteemed Vlade Divac. (That’s it.)
Bryant has delivered since then, of course, with five NBA titles, a league MVP award, 17 All-Star nods and 32,670 points — good for third in NBA history. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone scored more.
Sure, we can all treasure our high-dollar Rookie Cards or autos — and we should. They are all reflections of one of the game’s best players — one that many fans obviously like.
But for Buzz, this one card — one looking back at a time we’ve barely ever seen on cardboard — is one that stands out from the rest.
Just like Kobe Bryant in the NBA today.
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Update: The first piece of Kobe retirement memorabilia was released by the Lakers on Sunday night. Buzz expects these to be serious sellers on eBay.
All 18,997 in attendance tonight will receive a copy of @kobebryant‘s “Dear Basketball” letter. pic.twitter.com/iV1V7V0i2E
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 30, 2015
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