Gordon Hayward Refutes Story About Letting Kobe Bryant Score 60 Points In His Final Game

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images


If there’s a tiny slither of good to come from this horrific tragedy, it’s all the tributes and stories that have been told that define one of the greatest sports icons in history.

Just a few:

-Lou Williams describing how Kobe disallowed Lakers players to wear his shoes because they were ‘soft.’
-Kobe’s one goal as a kid was to win 8 titles so that he would have more rings than his basketball idols Michael Jordan and Earvin Magic Johnson.
-The iconic photo of Kobe crying in the locker room shower after winning the 2001 NBA Finals was due to his parents not showing up to a single game even though three games were in his hometown of Philly. Kobe fell out with his parents in 2000 after meeting Vanessa Laine. Kobe’s dad Joe did not approve because was ‘uncomfortable that Vanessa, a Latina, is not African-American.’

The latest incredible Kobe story came from sportscaster Mike Tirico, who claimed that in Kobe’s last game of his career–a game in which he scored 60 points in a win over the Jazz–opposing guard Gordon Hayward committed an intentional lane violation on a Kobe free throw to ensure he would achieve 60 points on the night.

Tirico’s story describing Hayward’s incredible gesture has been viewed almost 10 million times and has scored the Celtics guard some major brownie points. Only problem: it’s not true.

Gordo, you gotta let this slide, bud. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

 

Matt Keohan Avatar
Matt’s love of writing was born during a sixth grade assembly when it was announced that his essay titled “Why Drugs Are Bad” had taken first prize in D.A.R.E.’s grade-wide contest. The anti-drug people gave him a $50 savings bond for his brave contribution to crime-fighting, and upon the bond’s maturity 10 years later, he used it to buy his very first bag of marijuana.