Kobe Bryant’s 37-year-old legs rose up and helped The Black Mamba cram in his first dunk of the season Thursday night, a poster job in Clint Capela’s grill.
Everyone was delightfully shocked by the highlight play, including its 21-year-old victim.
@kobebryant told me that he surprised himself with that one, Me too 😂😂😂😂👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #StillGotIt Great team win #RedNation #Pursuit
— Clint Capela (@CapelaClint) December 18, 2015
Kobe said Rockets were shocked by his dunk:
"They said, ‘You’ve got two more years [in you] at least.’”
Kobe’s response: “Nah, I’m good."
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 18, 2015
Kobe joked "it was the best tech D'Angelo will ever get" after he sprinted off bench following Kobe's dunk
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 18, 2015
The Los Angeles Lakers remain terrible—losing 107-87 to the visiting Houston Rockets—but Kobe has regained his touch: the 20-year vet is shooting 49.4% from the field in his last 6 games.
Per the LA Times:
His dunk early in the third quarter was impressive. He drove past Trevor Ariza, put the ball in his right hand and soared over Rockets power forward Clint Capela. […] Fans went wild. There was an in-game standing ovation. D’Angelo Russell was hit with a technical foul for leaving the bench while celebrating.
“It was pretty impressive for a 37-year-old,” Lakers Coach Byron Scott said. “After he dunked it, it was kind of like, ‘Whoa, where did that come from?’ He always just lays it up in practice.” […] It was Bryant’s first dunk since he sustained a torn rotator cuff on a driving slam against New Orleans last January.
He had 22 points on nine-for-16 shooting against Houston, adding eight rebounds and three assists in front of a celebrity-infused crowd, a rarity this season, that included Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. […] “I felt springy. No idea where it came from, but it was there,” Bryant said. “Can’t really explain it.”
