Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant went out with a Hollywood ending to sign off his incredible basketball career.
He scored 60 points in his retirement game on Wednesday night, with a stunning offensive in the Los Angeles Lakers' 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz.
The Black Mamba scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game for seven years, and rallying the Lakers from a 15-point deficit.
"It's hard to believe it happened this way," the 37-year-old said after thrilling a packed Staples Center with the sixth 60-point haul of his career. "I'm still shocked about it."
He added: "I grew up a die-hard Laker fan - die-hard - so to be drafted and traded to this organisation and spend 20 years here, you can't write something like that."
The entire night was a tribute to Bryant, who is retiring after 20 seasons, five championship rings and 18 All-Star selections with the Lakers, who honoured him before and after the game.
Bryant joked after finishing his 1,346th regular-season game with 33,643 career points, saying: "The thing that had me cracking up all night long is I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the ball.
"And then the last night, they're like, 'don't pass it!'"
"Mamba out!" Bryant said with his final words to the celebrity-packed crowd.
Bryant scores with a slam dunk against the Chicago Bulls in 2000
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