Kobe Bryant Salutes TD Garden

Everyone knew that Kobe Bryant‘s final game in TD Garden would be one of the most meaningful. The crowd gave him the reception he wanted and he gave the Boston Celtics fans some of the best praise they could have received.

There was a mix of cheers and boos from the Celtics crowd but it is what Kobe said that had the greatest impact. ESPN’s Baxter Holmes highlights some of the great quotes.

Bryant said: “It felt great to get booed,” he said. “It was like, the recognition at the top of the game and [as] soon as I touched the ball and they booed, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m home”. It’s hard to imagine a 20 year Laker calling TD Garden home but with the amount of memories he has there it is no surprise. The Celtics Lakers rivalry has been around forever but Kobe had two memorable championship series against them.

Bryant fully recognizes the history of the Celtics and understands how great their history is. When discussing the prospect of being drafted by the Celtics Bryant had this to say: “I respected the franchise and history so much that I worked as hard as I could in the workout,” Bryant said. “I really wanted to impress them because of the legacy. If they decided to draft me I was going to carry this franchise the way they deserved to be”. Bryant understands where Celtics pride came from and that made it that much more important when he had to face off against them.

Dec 30, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) shoots the ball against Boston Celtics center Jared Sullinger (7) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

When talking specifically about TD Garden, Bryant fully recognizes the impact it had on him by saying “This building is a place that really pushed me to win those championships”. TD Garden is a place that gets into the Celtics’ opponents head and Bryant is one of the few that was able to use that as motivation.

Bryant realized how great the Celtics can be when he lost in 2008. A loss that may have been the most impactful in his career. Bryant proves the importance of that loss by saying “Because when we lost in 2008, that was the turn. That was when I said, ‘I have to figure this leadership thing out. I can’t go through this”.

The Celtics Lakers rivalry goes well beyond Kobe Bryant but he revitalized the rivalry after it disappeared for years. After the Celtics thoroughly dominated in the 1960s the Lakers got competitive in the 1980s and Kobe brought that into the late 2000s.

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Some of the greatest recent TD Garden memories involve Kobe Bryant and it is impossible to define Kobe’s career without the impact of TD Garden. Bryant himself would never understate the importance of the motivation and inspiration drawn from the Celtics and it certainly contributed to creating one of the fiercest competitors in the history of the NBA.

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