D’Angelo Russell recalls playing in Kobe Bryant’s final game: ‘He just looked like he had it’

Kobe Bryant ended his career with an incredible 60-point performance and D’Angelo Russell was right there to witness it firsthand.

D'Angelo Russell has been part of so many great moments as a Laker. He is coming off a year where he set the Lakers' single-season 3-point record and had his most points in a Lakers uniform with 44 in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

That random regular-season game has an interesting connection to Kobe Bryant. Russell's 21 points were the most in the fourth by a Laker since Kobe scored 23 in the closing quarter of his final against the Utah Jazz.

Believe it or not, that game was eight years ago, so you might have forgotten that Russell was also a Laker back then.

He recently appeared on the "Run Your Race" podcast and discussed what it was like to play in that final game where everyone wanted Kobe to take as many shots as humanly possible.

“When you got the ball and they (fans) are booing you, you know what that means. ‘Get that ball to that man.’ I remember Julius saying, ‘I’m just trying to get on the board. I’m just trying to score. I’m not trying to have zero.’ So, everybody was just trying to get two. Just get two, (Kobe) is going to get all the other ones. So that’s what it was. It was really us running around trying to get him the ball because they were trapping him.

“He was shooting tough two’s, like one foot inside the 3-point line two’s, pull-ups and I’m just like ‘dang’ you just see his face, he looked young. He just looked like he had it. I don’t know what was getting him through that s--- bro. He didn’t come out the game... he was prepared though, you could see it mentally he was prepared. And then everybody in the world was at the game. Denzel (Washington), Shaq, everybody.”

This was Kobe's best ending possible, given that the team was out of contention. He gave us one more legendary moment on the court.

The game was a microcosm of his career. He was relentless and maniacal, taking jumper after jumper, willing his team to victory. He did it his way and didn't stop until the job was finished and the result was in hand.

Kobe is now gone, but his legacy remains intact. He is in the Naismith Hall of Fame, has two jerseys hanging in the rafters at Crypto.com Arena and three statues of him set to be on display outside the stadium, two of which are already completed.

It's crucial to continue getting as many stories from players who played with him firsthand as we can. It will take decades, but eventually, the number of players who were around and played with Kobe will dwindle. The more information we have, the better people who never saw him play can understand just how special he truly was.

Legends never die and Kobe's DNA will always be a fabric of the Lakers' heritage as long as the franchise exists. It's a cool aspect of Russell's career that he played with both Lebron James and Kobe as a Laker and anytime he shares stories about playing with either of them, fans should be all ears.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.