The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

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On December 1, 2015, Bryant played his last game against his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers, where the Lakers lost 103–91. A public memorial service was held on February 24 (2/24, marking both Kobe's and Gianna's jersey numbers) at Staples Center with Jimmy Kimmel hosting. The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and the FBI [515] launched investigations into the crash.

When Bryant was 13, he and his family moved back to Philadelphia, where he enrolled in eighth grade at Bala Cynwyd Middle School. James also delivered a speech to the crowd before the game, and every player in the Lakers starting lineup was announced with Bryant's name. Throughout his first 17 seasons, his body was resilient, [285] and he exhibited a high pain threshold while often playing through injuries. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court advantage against the Sacramento Kings. After finishing 50–32 in the regular season, the Lakers floundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals in six games to the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs.Egyptian archaeologists recently located a lost 3,500-year-old cemetery containing mummies and statues—among other discoveries. On December 5 against New Orleans, Bryant became the youngest player (34 years and 104 days) in league history to score 30,000 points, joining Hall of Famers Chamberlain, Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Karl Malone as the fifth player to reach that milestone. In two crucial wins in March, he scored at least 40 points and had at least 10 assists in back-to-back games, becoming the first Laker to accomplish the feat since West in 1970. The Lakers won 58 games that year and finished second in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings.

On November 29, 2015, Bryant announced via The Players' Tribune that he would be retiring at the end of the season.He became just the fourth NBA player over 37 years old to log at least 35 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a game. In a move to improve the team's defense, D'Antoni began having Bryant guard the opponent's best perimeter player; Bryant was the primary defender on the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, who was held to 15 points.