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How Many Games Do You Project The Lakers Will Win This Season?

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  • They Will Break the NBA Record with 74+ Wins

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Staples Center sells $1.2 million worth of Kobe Bryant merchandise

Kobe Bryant not only set a points record for a player of his age in his final NBA game Wednesday night -- he also helped the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Lakers break all-time industry merchandise records.

On Wednesday alone, the Staples Center sold $1.2 million worth of Kobe merchandise, Sean Ryan, AEG vice president of merchandise told ESPN. Ryan said that's a single-day sales record for any arena in the world.

The previous record, Ryan said, was set by Led Zeppelin, who sold $1 million worth of merchandise in London at the O2 Arena on Dec. 10, 2007, the group's first full-length concert in three decades.


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The high-end Kobe memorabilia, dubbed the "24 Collection," was a partnership between AEG; Kobe's company, Kobe Inc.; his merchandise partner, Maingate; and the Lakers.

"The 24 Collection started with a vision of gold and diamonds and how this translated with the fans of Los Angeles," Ryan said. "We wanted every person who purchased with us the opportunity to have a piece which was special for the moment. The support and buy in exceeded our expectations."

The average fan inside the arena spent $61 in merchandise alone, with the average bill being $230, Ryan said.

When asked about the response to his merchandise on the final night of his 20-year career, Bryant laughed.

"It says that fans are really appreciative of this moment and wanted to maybe have something they can remember," Bryant said.

Prices of the merchandise were certainly for the well heeled. The majority of the hats, more than 60 percent of which sold out, cost $72.48 each.

There were eight hats made out of snake and lamb skin that cost $38,024 and eight hats made from cashmere with five diamonds on it that cost $24,008. Ryan said only three went unsold.

By the end of the night, Ryan said all pins, coins and jerseys had been sold out. All snakeskin texture jerseys that retailed for $424 each and a limited edition version of the jersey, with only 248 made, sold for $824 each.

One ticket holder walked into the crowded main team store about an hour before tipoff and purchased 20 of the $824 jerseys, which come in a commemorative box.

Ryan said that it's likely those jerseys now have a higher resale value, but his company set the market by selling a jersey at that price.

Of the 24 leather jackets with Swarovski crystals on it that retailed for $5,824, only three remained at night's end. Ryan said Bryant was gifted the 24/24 jacket, while his wife Vanessa got 8/24.

Including online sales, AEG, Bryant, the Lakers and Maingate sold more than $2 million in merchandise on Thursday, with the arena portion being the most significant because sales don't have to be shared with the rest of the teams in the league.

Merchandise records were set despite plenty of giveaways. Each ticket holder at Wednesday's game got a Kobe ticket holder with a lanyard, a commemorative book and a Nike T-shirt. Courtside ticket holders got six different shirts and a hat and 20 ticket holders were gifted limited edition Kobe shoes with Wednesday's date on it.

Merchandise wasn't only restricted to what was being in the arena. Bryant ended his postgame speech with the words "Mamba Out." Minutes later, "Mamba Out" T-shirts, in three colors, were being offered on his official website for $25 each.

Ticket stubs will also be a hot item in coming days. Bidding on stubs on eBay have surpassed $100 each in many auctions.

Source:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...th-kobe-bryant-merchandise-set-one-day-record
 
I wish I would have brought one of those hats, they cleaned out that store, crazy stuff.
 
I had a long post typed out in here yesterday outlining what Kobe has meant to me, and how looking back I'm realizing how many of my happiest moments in life were because of him/the Lakers.

I didn't get around to hitting "submit" because I was too busy at work. But one of the things I mentioned was that the game last night felt like more of a formality/ceremonial exercise because I had already mentally moved on and accepted that the Kobe I'd followed for so many years, the one that gave me all those moments of elation, has been gone for 3 years anyways. I was expecting to see a tired, broken old man throw up 30 or so shots in 25-30 minutes before having to leave the game to ice his shoulders and knees. I think in a way I divorced the last few seasons from Kobe's actual career. This wasn't Kobe, just some guy wearing his jersey until the contract ran out. While I was sad to see him go, I definitely had a cynical/low expectation for the actual on-court product his final game would provide...

And then he did it again. The fixture on the bench this year with iced knees and shoulders took the night off, and Kobe ******* Bryant covered his shift. Never in a million years would I have thought his last game would have been such an absolute joy to watch. A 37 year old on a 17 win team, and yet it was all so surreal and exhilarating and...FUN! A game that meant both nothing and everything.

Really this feels unprecedented. The whole crowd showed up to catch one last glimmer of what they loved about Kobe. Maybe a fadeaway or two, or a circus shot amidst a bunch of bricks. And sure, there were plenty of bricks. His teammates actively were rooting for him to shoot, and the other team knew he was gonna shoot damn near every time he got the ball. In a way it was like the whole game was a series of final possessions, where it's just Kobe with the ball and everyone waiting to see what would happen next. He had nothing left and he still gave us everything he had, and won the damn game in the process. I can't think of a more fitting way any athlete has ever ended their career.

So for one last time, a time I never thought would come again, thank you Kobe.
 
I saw this last night on the Lakers channel after the game when Jeanie Buss presented this ring to Kobe & Vanessa after the game:

The Lakers gave Kobe and Vanessa Bryant diamond 'retirement' rings

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Kobe Bryant helped deliver the Los Angeles Lakers five championship rings during his illustrious 20-year career in purple and gold. On Wednesday night, before his final game as an NBA player ahead of his retirement at the end of this season, the Lakers did what they could to return the favor, presenting both Kobe and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, with new diamond-studded pieces of jewelry for the road, courtesy of jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills:

Before making the decision to retire, you'd imagine that Kobe would consider the prospect of ending a 16- or 17-win season with bedazzled hardware to be baffling at best and perhaps even insulting. But given how comfortably he's shifted into acceptance of and appreciation for the farewell tour, the goodbye gifts, and everything else that has come with it, even as the losses have piled up, I suspect he took the gesture for what it was: another token of appreciation for all he's meant to the organization over the last two decades, much like the one Bean and his teammates got Shaquille O'Neal after he hung 'em up as a thank you for all he did in delivering the first three titles of Kobe's career.

Source:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ant-diamond--retirement--rings-032908780.html
 
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I wish I would have brought one of those hats, they cleaned out that store, crazy stuff.
I think I read somewhere, Postmates was doing Lakers store deliveries 
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Yesterday was the first Laker game I been to, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I'm not even gonna lie, I didn't watch many Laker games this year because I didn't want to see Kobe be a complete shell of himself, but it was dope to see him end his career in vintage form.
 
only complaint about the game is we didnt get to see ron artest and kobe out on the floor together for one last time 
 

When I tell you that place was bear. Man. Once I got into the game I went back in there. Still kinda empty. Some more T shirts and such. Then they put out some Kobe swingman's, The latterly just started throwing them to people because a mob of folks rushed him.

The 96 purple Mitchell and ness flew off the racks too. Just crazy. I bought 1 T shirt and left it at that.

Crazy night.

I have a video of him hitting that corner three....I screamed when he hit it...absolutely amazing night. NEVER heard staples that loud and I was there for game 7 in 2010.
 
 
When/if they go into the FA pitch for KD, and Byron ******* Scott is the coach 
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I figured they'd let big time FA's pick the coach. Like if KD doesn't want Byron, I'm sure the Lakers would easily send Byron packing to obtain a big time FA.
 
Big free agents probably don't want to hear that. They're thinking about making a big change, want to win, and the Lakers wouldn't even have a coach yet.

Plus Thibs and even Scott Brooks will have jobs by then. I doubt it'll be exciting for KD to choose from George Karl and Sam Mitchell.
 
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man reading the haters thread is a perfect reminder of how much kobe was successful in reaching his full potential

80% of the posts are hypotheticals because what actually happens is too great to hate on 
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these dudes need to write fan fiction just to discredit the legend
 
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