Kobe Bryant’s Retirement Puts To Rest Trail Blazers’ Dead Rivalry With Lakers

Thursday, December 03, 2015

Bryant Knox of GoLocalPDX Partner Site Oregon Sports News

Kobe Bryant, one of the most hated men in Rip City for the better part of two decades, has officially announced what everyone assumed was already reality: that the 2015-16 NBA season will be the final campaign of the future Hall of Famer’s illustrious career.

“This season is all I have left to give,” Bryant penned to The Players’ Tribune. “My heart can take the pounding; my mind can handle the grind; but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”*

What does this mean for the Portland Trail Blazers’ faithful fanbase? It means Stumptown can let go of the tired notion that the Los Angeles Lakers are still a bitter rival.

In defense of nostalgic Portlandians everywhere, there’s plenty of historical context to support the one-time rivalry. According to Basketball-Reference.com, only one team in the Association has played the Blazers more than L.A. in franchise history: the current squad formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics. There’s also the playoff encounters throughout the late 80s and 90s, the never-forgotten 2000 Western Conference Finals and the times Kobe singlehandedly broke hearts at the then-named Rose Garden.

Remember these shots? Tears were shed in Portland that night.

But what made this a presumed rivalry even when these two organizations were at opposite ends of the competitive spectrum was the fact that Portland, in true fan-appealing fashion, defended its turf. In April 2010, Bryant acknowledged as much with the following statement, courtesy of The Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), after the Lakers’ eighth straight loss at the RG:

"To us, they look like a playoff team every time we come up here," Bryant said. "They're extremely well coached, Brandon Roy is a fantastic player and they have great complementary players around him. They're very good."

The problem here is that 2010 was a long time ago and the bad blood has remained solely because of one man. Fans in Rip City, not unlike fanatics across the league, have loved to loathe the Black Mamba for years, but his departure from the Association means Portlanders can finally disassociate themselves from the so-called rivalry with zero remaining pieces still involved

The good news for fans who’ve made their personal motto “Beat L.A.” throughout the years: You have one last chance to see your rival. The Lakers are set to return to Moda one final time this season on Jan. 23, and assuming Bryant plays (the Lakers don’t have a game between then and Jan. 20 that week), you have an opportunity to send him off in whatever fashion you deem fit.

The even better news? The 2016-17 campaign gives you a chance to find your newest rivalry. Is it the Dallas Mavericks, a team that has played you close in the recent past and swiped the voice of your franchise last summer? Maybe an up-and-coming Utah Jazz squad, an easy-to-hate L.A. Clippers group or the Oklahoma City Thunder?

The Blazers are rebuilding, and while we don’t know which pieces will be around for the long haul, the opportunity is there to get better and start anew with the long-term outlook in mind. Ironically, the Lakers find themselves in a similar situation with a hodgepodge roster that’s going to change quite a bit in the years following Bryant’s retirement.

Could the rivalry with the Lakers remain as both groups rebuild? You bet it could. But don’t kid yourself into thinking it’ll be an extension of what was brewing between the early 90s and early 2000s.

That rivalry as we know it is dead. And Bryant’s Rip City swan song in January will allow fans to say goodbye and find a new antagonist, whether it be the hated Lakers or otherwise.

*Punctuation has been added to Bryant’s original message for clarity.

GoLocalPDX partner Oregon Sports News: Since 2011, Oregon Sports News has provided entertaining, hard-hitting local sports news & commentary every weekday. To read more from this author, check out Oregon Sports News by clicking here.

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