Lower Merion's Kobe Bryant Retires From NBA In Style, Scoring 60 Points

Kobe Bryant, like many differen tall-time greats in many different sports, could have gone out quietly.

He could have played a few ceremonial minutes, and taken a bow to a raucous crowd.

He could have left the court after he made his first shot, in a Ted Williams-esque gesture of walking out on top.

He could have tried to contribute meaningfully, and failed.

But he did none of those things.

The Lower Merion High School graduate ended his historic career in an incredible way Wednesday night, scoring 60 points for just the fifth time in his career as his Los Angeles Lakers took down the Utah Jazz, 101-96.

The Lakers have fallen mightily from their pinnacle of five NBA championships won during Bryant's career. THey were one of the worst teams in basketball this year, finishing with a 17-65 record that was only better than the 76ers.

Bryant himself, at age 37, was not quite the MVP caliber player he used to be. His numbers suffered with age, as they must.

But for one night, he could still make magic.

Bryant graduated from Lower Merion High School in 1996 before heading straight to the NBA draft as a teenager.

He retires in third place on the NBA's all time scoring list, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and and Karl Malone.