One of the things that made the late Kobe Bryant the greatest player of his generation and one of the all-time greats was how clutch he was and his ability to deliver game-winning shots.
In the final regular season game of 2004, he provided two shots that no one will ever forget.
The Los Angeles Lakers were playing at the Portland Trail Blazers, looking for a win to push their season record to 56-26 and claim the second seed in the Western Conference.
It had been a gnarly season, as key injuries and infighting had dampened the excitement and potential of adding future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
But in the last few weeks of the schedule, the team had gotten healthy and was starting to peak at the right time.
With seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bryant was covered like a parka by Ruben Patterson, a former teammate who had once called himself the “Kobe Stopper.”
Bryant then launched a 3-pointer from what seemed like an impossible angle that went straight through to force overtime.
The contest then went into double overtime, and when Portland guard Damon Stoudamire made a layup with 2.2 second left to put his team up by two, the Lakers seemed done.
L.A. inbounded the ball to Bryant, who caught the pass and shot a rainbow 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of Theo Ratliff, one of the NBA’s better shot blockers.
SWISH!
The Lakers won, 105-104, and stampeded into the playoffs on a high note.
Although they would lose in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons, those two shots by Bryant became as iconic as any others he ever took.
