Tag: Leo Hainline ’22
State of the Olympics: Tokyo 2021
by The Cowl Editor on October 4, 2020
Professional Sports
International Competitions to be held in Summer 2021
by Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, there was an eerie point in time when the entire sporting world went on pause. While many sporting events were canceled altogether, some major events were postponed to the summer of 2021. This includes the quadrennial Olympic Games and the European Championships (Euros) for soccer.
Although no one knows when stadiums will be packed with fans again, both of these competitions are expected to take place regardless. Even without fans, watching both of these historic competitions will add some quality entertainment to next summer.
Indeed, the Tokyo Olympics will happen next year under any circumstances. According to the International Olympics Committee (IOC), the opening events are planned for July 23, while the closing day is set to be Aug. 8. The IOC is branding it as the “Games that Conquered COVID.” All eyes will be on Japan to see what measures will be implemented in order to host the Games successfully.
Officials have yet to determine whether spectators will be allowed to attend. They are also considering simplifying the opening and closing ceremonies in addition to reducing the number of staff and delegates from each nation. Over 200 countries intended on participating in the Tokyo Olympics prior to the pandemic, but Japan still has strict travel restrictions on most foreign nations.
The 11,000 foreigners entering the country will certainly require constant testing, but the fact that the Games are held in one city will be an advantage logistically. The Olympic Games have a tradition of being held regardless of ongoing global challenges, with the only cancellations in its history due to World War I and World War II.
As for the Euros, one of the biggest tournaments in the world of soccer, the competition is expected to take place from June 11 to July 11 in 12 different host cities. These cities include London, Baku, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, and Glasgow. Usually the tournament is hosted by one or two European nations, but this year it was originally intended to be hosted across the continent to honor the tournament’s 60th anniversary.
Soccer has seen all of its major leagues restart amid the pandemic without a bubble system akin to the ones used in the United States. The Euros are expected to proceed smoothly without one as well.
20 of the 24 teams participating have already been decided, with the remaining qualification games occurring on Nov. 22 for the final four teams. Italy is set to play Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome for the tournament’s opening match on June 11. Like the Olympics, the status of fans at the stadiums has yet to be determined. While most soccer matches have been played without any fans in attendance, some countries have recently begun to allow in-person viewings.
Even with the United Kingdom being one of the hardest-hit countries during the pandemic, Wembley Stadium in London is set to host the finale of the tournament. The Premier League was planning on reintroducing fans in early October, but a recent uptick in the U.K.’s case counts has pushed back that initiative indefinitely.
While still many months away, it will be interesting to see how both of these major sporting events will be impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
PCI: WHO WAS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE NBA BUBBLE?
by The Cowl Editor on September 17, 2020
PCI
Devin Booker
by Joseph Quirk ’23
Sports Staff
The NBA bubble is a unique circumstance which the league has never seen before. With a high demand for the return of sports, it also provided a big stage for a lot of players to break out and establish themselves as dominant forces. No one took advantage of this opportunity more than Devin Booker.
In the 2015 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns selected Booker, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, with the No. 13 overall pick. This selection has turned out to be one of the smartest decisions in the history of the Phoenix Suns. Over his career, the 23-year-old shooting guard has averaged 22.5 points and 4.7 assists per game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three. Booker also scored 70 points in a game against the Boston Celtics, making it the 11th game in NBA history where a single player scored 70 points or more in one game. He is one of only six players to do so and the most recent since the late Kobe Bryant.
At the end of an abysmal 2018 season, Booker famously stated, “I’m done with not making the playoffs.” Unfortunately, Phoenix missed the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 as well. However, this season felt different. Booker had a career year, with averages of 26.6 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game on shooting percentages of 48.9 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three. Booker had one of his more efficient seasons as well, mainly because he could play off the ball more with the addition of point guard Ricky Rubio. He also had advanced floor-spacers in Kelly Oubre, Jr. and rookie Cameron Johnson, and strong bigs in Deandre Ayton and Dario Saric.
Indeed, the Suns were winning games and in striking distance of a playoff spot. When the bubble teams were announced, the Suns made the cut and made the best of their opportunity. Booker averaged 31 points, six assists, and five rebounds on efficient shooting splits while earning an All-Bubble First Team nod. He would lead the Suns to the only 8-0 record in the bubble. The stretch included wins over talented playoff teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Indiana Pacers.
All in all, Booker has put in a superhuman effort, elevating both his individual game and his team’s overall performance. The only reason the Suns missed the playoffs was because the Portland Trail Blazers, the team just ahead of them, won a game on a last second missed buzzer-beater.
Certainly, an argument can be made for other players to be named bubble MVP such as T.J. Warren and Damien Lillard, but Booker took the Suns to a new, unexpected level. He showed up when it mattered and beat some of the NBA’s best teams, which is why he should have earned MVP.
Damian Lillard
by Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
The conclusion of the NBA regular season saw some breakout performances from players such as Devin Booker, T.J. Warren, and Michael Porter Jr. The playoffs have also brought some iconic performances, including Luka Doncic’s game-winner against the Los Angeles Clippers and Donovan Mitchell’s 57-point game against the Denver Nuggets. Any of these players are worthy of being considered the bubble’s best player, but the NBA got it right when they gave the award to the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard at the end of the regular season.
Even though the Trail Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, Lillard’s performances reigned supreme and were the best in the bubble. In Orlando, Lillard averaged 33 points, eight assists, and 4.8 rebounds. Most importantly, he was able to lead his team into the eighth seed after entering the bubble 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot.
After missing two key free throws against the Clippers in their fifth game, Lillard not only stepped up his game, but became the best player in the league. Needing to win out to have any chance at making the 8/9 seed play-in game, the Oakland native dropped 51 and 61 points in his next two contests. Lillard channeled one of his many nicknames, “Logo Lillard,” as his shooting became automatic from everywhere on the court.
He came up clutch against the Dallas Mavericks in his 61-point game, hitting an insane high-bouncing three-pointer to bring Portland level in the closing moments and then seized the victory with crucial plays on both ends of the court. He followed with scoring 42 points, leading Portland to a crucial come-from-behind one-point win against the Brooklyn Nets to seal their place in the Western Conference play-in game. Lillard then had 31 points and 10 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies to secure Portland’s spot in the playoffs.
Lillard’s most iconic moment came in Game one of the opening round against the top-seeded Lakers. With the game going back and forth all game long, it became “Dame Time” for the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Lillard started knocking down contested threes from way downtown. The game began to shift in Portland’s favor when Lillard buried a deep three to tie the game at 87 with five and a half minutes to go. After that happened, Lillard was locked in, and the Blazers never looked back, taking the first game 127-119 over the top-seeded Lakers.
Although the Blazers lost their next four games and got knocked out of the playoffs, Lillard’s performances were incredibly memorable. No individual player on any team made more of an impact than Lillard for the Blazers in the bubble.
PCI: Who Will Win the Big East Tournament?
by The Cowl Editor on March 5, 2020
PCI
Seton Hall University
by Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
The Big East Tournament is just around the corner, and the Providence College Men’s Basketball Team is looking to become champions for the first time since 2014. And with their recent form, the Friars have shown they are more than capable of making a deep run. It would be quite an accomplishment as the Big East is notably deep this year, full of talented programs from top to bottom. One of these teams is Seton Hall University, a foe that will unfortunately end up winning the tournament over the Friars.
Indeed, Seton Hall appears to have the regular-season championship and no. 1 seed locked up as they sit at 13-3 in Big East play. However, they do play two tough games this week first against Villanova University and then away at Creighton University. Both of these teams currently sit at 11-5 in the conference and will likely be the two and three seeds, respectively.
If Providence finishes its season with wins in their games vs. Xavier University and DePaul University, they will be at worse the four seed. Xavier, Marquette University, and Butler University are all strong programs that are currently sitting in the projected NCAA tournament field. Georgetown University, St. John’s University, and DePaul, could potentially pull off an upset in an early-round (St. John’s has the energy and home-court advantage to cause a high seed some trouble), but they do not pose much of a threat to win it all.
Seton Hall, though, has arguably the most complete team in the Big East. They have a senior leader in Myles Powell who can get a bucket in the biggest moments and is a player who loves playing in New York City. 7’2’’ Romaro Gill is a tough matchup for anyone. Quincy McKnight, Myles Cale, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Jared Rhoden can all knock down shots and fill out the roster nicely. Here and there, Powell has had poor performances, but it is hard to see him having any letdowns at Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall is also having a historically great year for the program – the last time they won the Big East regular season was in 1992-93 under coach PJ Carlesimo. That year, they won the Big East Tournament and won at Villanova for the first time in 25 years.
If the Pirates finish their regular season with momentum from wins over Villanova and Creighton, I think that there is no doubt they have the best shot at winning the Big East Tournament.
Providence College
by Meaghan Cahill ’20
Sports Coeditor
The 2020 Big East Tournament is fast approaching and, at the moment, it is completely up for grabs. Seton Hall University is arguably the favorite to win the whole tournament, but the Providence College Men’s Basketball Team is currently in a position that could very much challenge that. I predict that they will be victorious in the tournament.
The main reason why PC has a shot at winning the entire tournament is because, compared to the other teams, their momentum has finally kicked in and it is strong enough to carry them throughout the tournament. Coming off of one of the best months of basketball play, PC has won four-straight games, with three of those wins coming against top-ranked teams. According to ESPN, PC is one of only five teams ever to knock off five top 25 teams in a month.
The most recent was their upset win against Big East rival Villanova University, who is ranked third in the Big East, just behind Seton Hall and Creighton University, and 14th in the country. This 58-54 win secured the Friars a first round bye in the tournament. In addition, with the exception of Xavier University, PC has beaten every team in the Big East.
Alongside their momentum, Luwane Pipkins ’20GS has finally found some consistency. Playing what is without a doubt his best play this season pointwise, Pipkins has finished the last four games with 27, 24, 16, and 13 points, respectively. He also shot 71 percent against Georgetown University, 64 percent against Marquette University, and 54 percent against Villanova. Averaging about 20 points per game, the burst in Pipkins play has, without a doubt, transformed a formally dismal season and has given the team life and chance to secure a NCAA tournament bid.
With Pipkins leading the way, other Friars such as Alpha Diallo ’20 and Maliek White ’20 are playing exceptionally well and other teams will have a hard time shutting them down defensively. Diallo scored a remarkable 35 points against no. 1 ranked Seton Hall and White scored 15 points against Villanova.
In addition to players such as Pipkins finding his stride, the Friars’ defense has been a key component to the success that the team is finding. As head coach Ed Cooley said after the team’s upset against Villanova, “We hang our hat on defense.”
The tenacity that the Friars are displaying after their dismal 6-6 start to the season, along with the fact that key players such as Pipkins, Diallo, and White are finding a way to make their presence known on the court and their recent stellar defensive play are all reasons as to why they have the best shot to claiming this year’s Big East title.PCO
Tennis Looks to Start Spring Season Strong
by The Cowl Editor on February 27, 2020
Friar Sports
Young Team Ready For Spring
by Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
The Providence College Women’s Tennis Team recently got itsseason underway as the squad looks to improve from the previous year and aims to establish itself as a competitive program in the Big East.
Returning veterans Aidan Epstein ’20 and Natalie Pitocco ’20 will need to bring their experience to help lead an underclassmen-heavy roster. In his fourth season as head coach, Jakob Klaeson recruited four freshmen to Friartown to join Mimi Dailey ’22, Haley Gurski ’22 and the two seniors. The squad looks to usher in a new era for the program.
The roster is full of competitors and Coach Klaeson anticipates both their youth and depth as two big potential strengths.
“One of our strengths is that we’re very similar from top to bottom,” he said. “We have two seniors, no juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen. One of our strengths could be that everything is so new and exciting, but that could also work against us that we don’t have the prior experience as much as other teams, but I see the depth of our team as our strength.”
Dailey agrees with Coach Klaeson that there are many reasons to be optimistic about to the rest of the season.
“I think our team from last year has already improved from the previous season a significant amount,” she stated. “We have four hardworking and determined freshmen and four returning players. I believe this year the eight players are driven and ready to compete to our best abilities.”
She spoke very highly of the newcomers to the team, saying, “All four of our freshmen are amazing. Each freshman has brought new and different talent to the team. I believe they are all worthy of looking for out there on the courts this season.”
PC women’s tennis is coming off a 5-18 season and currently are 1-3 in the 2020 season, having lost a tight match to Fairfield University this past weekend. Providence and Fairfield have been evenly matched but this time the Friars lost 4-3 in singles, with many of the matches going all three sets.
In doubles, the Friars went 1-2, with the two losses coming in hard-fought matches. PC came back from 2-5 down only to fall 6-7 (women’s collegiate tennis only plays one set in doubles). Brenna Magliochetti ’23 was the only Friar to grab wins in both singles and doubles, winning her singles matches 6-3, 6-0, and linking up with fellow Katie Mulvey ’23 to grab the sole doubles win 6-2.
The Friars take the court next in Orlando, FL over spring break for matchups against Millsap College and Big East opponents Georgetown University and Creighton University. Coach Klaeson noted that he is looking forward to Big East play.
“The Big East matches are always highlights of the season,” he stated. “We have a couple of exciting ones. For my tenure, we’re heading to Marquette University for the first time. We head to Marquette and play Butler University at Marquette so that will be an exciting trip.”
Coach Klaeson also mentioned that their match against Sacred Heart University is one to watch out for.
“Coming back from spring break, we have Sacred Heart at home again. We lost to them last season 3-4, so that’s an exciting match. I think we’re very evenly squared up and we’re very excited to kind of, like, reclaim that because we have beat them in the past and going a bit back and forth, they’ve always been close matches.”
The Friars plan on demonstrating their ability on the court this season with a youthful squad that screams potential. As the season progresses, PC will look to show that they are ready to compete against some elite competition.
Karwoski, Softball Team Ready to Roll
by Meaghan P Cahill on February 13, 2020
Friar Sports
Team Looks to Build Upon Last Year’s Breakout Season
By Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
This week marks the beginning of the Providence College softball season as the Friars head down to Texas to square off against Houston Baptist University, Sam Houston State University, and George Mason University. PC softball is on the rise after Coach Jill Karwoski took over the program last year, finishing the season with a 30-22 record—a great improvement from the team’s 13-32 performance in 2018—and the most wins for the Friars since 2005. Despite some key members graduating, namely Emma Lee ’19 who made the Big East Second Team last season with a .411 batting average, excitement is brewing around the current squad.
Coach Karwoski has unified the program through a team-first philosophy that the players have embraced. When asking Skie Villani ’22 (who this weekend will be playing close to her hometown of Sugar Land, TX) about the strengths of the team, she emphasized that the true strengths do not lie in an individual player or position but within the values that they hold as a program. “Our strengths come from our core values—attitude and gratitude, open-heart open-mind, and respect and commitment,” she stated. “To be successful we know we’ll have to work as a team.”
Coach Karwoski also highlighted the importance of making the most of the Friars’ opportunities on offense and minimizing mistakes in order to reach their potential: “I think so much of it is taking advantage of opportunities you know when we have runners in scoring positions… what hurts a lot of teams sometimes is when you leave a lot of runners on base—Coach Bree has been doing a fantastic job with our offense and utilizing some of our strengths so and doing that—taking advantage of those base runners and on defense minimizing our errors—we want to make sure we’re having quick innings and not letting things snowball or get out of control.”
The Friars have six seniors on the roster, including Mackensie Compton ’20 who holds the highest batting average of all returning players from last season. Along with the seniors, there are also plenty of talented underclassmen on the roster. Daniela Alvarez ’22 is another name to watch out for. As a freshman, she held an 18-8 record with a 2.25 ERA. She had more wins than any other pitcher on the 2019 roster and it appears she could be a dominant force for PC softball this season and in the years to come.
After their opening games in Texas, the Friars will head down to Maderia Beach, FL for an array of five out-of-conference games that include matchups against Colombia University, Stony Brook University, and Merrimack College. They then return to Clearwater for the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational in early March, where the Friars will play twelve games in a span of five days. On Wednesday, March 18, PC softball will have its first home game at Glay Field versus Bryant (the Friars went 11-2 at home last season) and will open Big East play that Friday in Friartown against St. John’s University, who won the Big East regular season in 2019.
Anticipate a lot of excitement from the Big East this year. From top to bottom the teams are going to be competitive and will make for some great softball. In response to what games she was looking forward to, Coach Karwoski responded, “I think every single Big East game I’m looking forward to. Last year was our first year in the Big East in terms of our coaching staff and we just really enjoyed the competitiveness of it, and you know, every team equally matched up and each game was a lot of fun.”
PC softball also has the motivation to prove the doubters wrong—they were ranked 6th out of 8 teams in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. For a team that finished third in the conference in 2019 and has retained more than a serviceable amount of talent, the Friars will be looking to prove that last year’s success was not a fluke. However, Coach Karwoski hesitated to make much of the preseason polls
She said, “Last year I think we were picked eighth and I think we ended up finishing third— that’s just what it is, it’s a preseason poll and I think every year we get underestimated and until we start having consecutively good years in the top four of the conference, you know, right now I’m sure they’ll look at last year maybe as a fluke or maybe as a one-time thing so now it’s up to us to prove that we can consistently compete for a Big East Championship.”
Reigning Big East tournament champion DePaul University looks to be Providence’s biggest competition this season. Not only did they make the NCAA tournament last year but they were the team that knocked the Friars out of the Big East tournament. Although PC softball likes to focus on the season by going one game at a time, their series at home versus Depaul at the end of their regular season on May 1-3 are games that both players and fans should be marking on their calendars.
Providence College Investigates: Kobe Bryant’s Best Moments
by The Cowl Editor on February 6, 2020
PCI
Bryant’s 81 Points vs. Toronto Raptors & Free-Throws Post-Achilles Tear
by Leo Hainline ’22
Sports Staff
In a 2006 mid-season game that nowadays some star players would consider taking off, the Los Angeles Lakers went up against Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors in the Staples Center.
The first quarter was nothing special and Toronto was up early. Kobe Bryant was keeping the Lakers in the game, but the Raptors had a serviceable cushion for most of the first half. Nobody would guess that he would end up dropping the second-most points in a single game in NBA history. At half time, despite Bryant having 26, the Lakers were down 63-49 and looked like they were on pace to drop their third game in a row.
Instead of waiting for his teammates to wake up from their off-night, Bryant took the initiative to elevate his game to the next level.
Down double digits, who else was going to get the Lakers back in the game? Lamar Odom? Bryant knew he was that guy who had to put the team on his back. He missed the first couple of shots of the third quarter but kept shooting and one after the other, his shots started to fall. Scoring three-buckets in a row, Bryant single-handedly cut the lead. Out of a timeout, Bryant got the ball, drove baseline, pulled up, pump-faked twice, got fouled and got the bucket. He was locked in—lay-ups, mid-range, threes, it didn’t matter where Bryant was on the court, he was going to score. With a minute left in the third quarter, Bryant stole the ball and got a fast-break dunk to take the lead and the entire crowd was up on their feet.
Bryant entered the fourth quarter with 53 points and was just getting started. Bryant kept attacking, driving to the bucket, hitting jump shots, getting to the line. Halfway through the fourth quarter, he got fouled on a three and surpassed his previous career-high of 62. Staples Center was hot—every time Bryant got the ball the people rose out of their seats and started cheering.
At this point, Bryant was pulling up every possession and extending the Lakers lead to close to 20. Everyone in the arena knew that this was one of the best individual performances in the history of basketball. He knocked down his final two free throws to finish with 81, and more important to him, a win for the Lakers.
This game, where one person singlehandedly outscored the opposing team in the second half, is a nice individual memory of Kobe Bryant as a basketball player, but Bryant’s legacy will be remembered for much more than his contributions to the game of basketball, or a single game for that matter. He will be remembered for his energy, hard work, commitment, faith, and love that he spread on a daily basis. The impact he had on his friends, family, and fans is much more significant than a number in the box score.
Another game that displayed Bryant’s tenacity occured seven years later at the end of the 2012-2013 season.
During their 80th game of the season, the Lakers were fighting to secure a playoff spot. The team was playing Bryant heavy minutes for this final stretch of games, trying to make the most of what was a bit of a disappointing season. Some of their new acquisitions did not exactly live up to expectations. Regardless of the situation, Bryant was still leading the team, scoring over 27 points a game and contributing on both ends of the court.
The Lakers were in a dogfight with the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center. Bryant was repeatedly banged up in this physical game. In the third quarter, he was down for about a minute after hyperextending his knee but shook it off and continued to play through the pain. Late in the game, Bryant was knocking down threes and doing everything he could to put the Lakers into the lead.
With three minutes to go, the Lakers were down 109-107 and Bryant drove in on Harrison Barnes at the top of the key. He got fouled but immediately went down, grimacing, grabbing his left heel in what appeared to be a non-contact injury. The severity of the injury wasn’t immediately clear—he still had his game face on and limped over to the bench as the Lakers took a timeout.
Once the coverage resumed on TV it was obvious that Bryant was badly injured. Under his own power, he gingerly moved from the team huddle to the foul line, putting no pressure on his left foot. Down by two, Bryant stepped up and knocked down the first free throw.
At this point, you could see the emotion in his eyes—likely not from the pain of the injury but because he knew that he would be out for the game and rest of the season, unable to help his team.
The referee tossed him the ball, and again, Bryant stepped up and calmly hit the free throw. Tying it up late into the fourth quarter in what some considered to be a must-win game on a torn achilles takes much more than pure talent—it’s takes something that’s inherent in Bryant’s Mamba Mentality. The traits that Bryant possessed in his personality and mentality never just purely applied to basketball. They apply to life, and that is partly why Bryant is respected and beloved by so many people.
The determination he had to fight through the pain and knock down those shots in this single situation is representative of the tenacity he brought on a daily basis, both in basketball and outside the game.
Bryant’s Final Career Home Game & Winning Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals
by Sullivan Burgess ’20
Sports Staff
Before the 2015-2016 NBA season, Kobe Bryant announced that it would be his last season after missing the majority of the previous two seasons due to injury. Immediately fans began to purchase tickets to get the chance to see one of the greatest players of all-time one more time. Bryant’s farewell tour was made with applause from other team’s fans, jersey swaps with a player from every team, and retirement gifts. With each passing game, anticipation rose for the regular season finale on April 13 at the Staples Center against the Utah Jazz. The Los Angeles Lakers came into the game 16-65 and had been long out of playoff-contention, meaning this was going to be Bryant’s final appearance.
Every former Laker and celebrity that you can possibly think of were in attendance to watch the Black Mamba play in his last ever NBA game. Bryant, the final player left from the 1996 NBA draft, was ready to put on a show one last time and let everyone know, including his daughters and wife, that he was not going to go out quietly.
During the season, Bryant averaged 17.6 points per game in 66 games. Expectations were high that Bryant was due for something special, and special was just an understatement of what happened on that night. After being down by 15 at halftime, Bryant put the Lakers on his back one final time and gave one last memorable game. After scoring 22 points at halftime, Bryant exploded for 42 points in the second half to finish with 60 in his final game.
In the final minute with his team down 95-96, Bryant hit a mid-range jump shot to give the Lakers the lead 97-96. He would seal the game with 15 seconds left by hitting two free throws to make it 99-96. The Lakers gave Bryant the chance for one final curtain call by subbing him out with four seconds left to a standing ovation by the home crowd. Bryant gave the crowd one last salute before walking off the floor forever and leaving everyone with a moment they will not forget.
The other moment that will forever define Bryant’s legacy is when the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals. The two teams also met in 2008 when the Celtics took the series in six games. Boston was looking for their second title with their Big Three. Meanwhile, Bryant was ready to bring LA back-to-back championships and win his fifth overall. Going into Game Six Boston held at 3-2 advantage in the series with two chances to take the series. The Lakers made sure there would be a Game Seven after beating down on the Celtics 89-67. Bryant scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Lakers forced a Game Seven on their home court.
While Boston held the lead after three quarters with the title close in their sights, Bryant was going to make sure his team did not go out quietly. After averaging 27 points during season, Bryant scored a game-high 23 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter in a tight battle with the Celtics. The Lakers pulled ahead late in the game pulled out the 83-79 win. The series gave Bryant his fifth ring and second Finals MVP award. He averaged 28.6 points per game during the series and shot 40.5 percent from the field.
This series helped cement Bryant as an all-time great, putting him one championship behind his idol Michael Jordan. After winning his first three titles with teammate Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant showed that he could lead a team on his own and carry them when needed most.
Kobe Bryant was more than an athlete, he was a leader, MVP, father, and most importantly a legend amongst all the branches of sports. He will be missed and never be forgotten for his actions on the court and the greatness he achieved off the court.