OAKLAND, Calif. -- Before Kobe Bryant left the Oracle Arena court for the final time Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers icon was greeted by a trio of Golden State Warriors who have been terrorizing the rest of the league lately.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all surrounded Bryant and chatted him up following their team's 116-98 win over Bryant and the Lakers.
"You guys have got to go ahead and make history," Bryant told Curry.
"I got to chase you," Curry replied, a response that Bryant said he too would have used.
"Damn right," Bryant told Curry. "Absolutely. Come and get it."
Bryant also signed a pair of his game-worn sneakers for Green.
The message Bryant wrote: "Make history."
A passing of the torch? Perhaps.
"I think so," Bryant said. "It's their time. It's their time. It's their time to step up and play and see how many championships they can win, see how many gold medals they can win. I had my run. Now it's important for them to carry it forward."
Bryant won five titles during his remarkable 20-year run with the Lakers, and the Warriors are well on their way toward multiple titles of their own, though there is no easy path in the Western Conference, especially with the San Antonio Spurs looming.
But the Warriors heard Bryant's message loud and clear.
"He told us to chase history, so we're going to try to chase it now like he did in his career," Curry said. "He paved the way."
