The Kobe Bryant farewell tour makes a familiar Christmas Day stop a Staples Center Friday, only it will be the first time he and his Lakers take on their roomies, the Clippers, on the holiday.
In Bryant's 19 years in the NBA he has never faced the Clippers on Christmas, partly because the other L.A. team didn't warrant a primetime meeting until Chris Paul molded the Clippers a legitimate title contender. This late-night matchup comes as Paul and company try to break a three-game losing streak. The Lakers, sitting in the Western Conference cellar, are playing for relevancy.
Bryant averages 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on Christmas, though he's missed the last two years with various ailments, including a knee injury that eventually required season-ending surgery last winter. His 2012 outing against the Knicks - scoring 34 points and five boards - was hardly his best.
There was the time he notched 42 points against the Shaquille O'Neal-led Miami Heat months after Shaq left Lakerland. He dropped 27 points on Boston in 2008 as a small sort of retribution for losing the NBA title to the Celtics the summer prior. In 2002, Bryant dropped 27 points and 15 rebounds on Sacramento to earn his first-ever holiday double-double.
The Lakers are only 6-9 in Christmas Day games with Bryant, and that may only get worse in facing Paul, Blake Griffin, and a Clippers team still trying to find their identity. But it is Christmas, and Bryant has given the gift of his talents on this night on 15 occasions. Santa Bryant may have one more stellar Christmas performance left in him.
When: Dec. 25, 2015
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Time: 10;30 p.m. EST
Television: ESPN
Live stream: WATCHESPN, ESPN app