The sad part for us, beyond the grinding metronome of time marching on, is this: So little of Kobe Bryant’s history was written in New York. So much of Bryant’s career coincided with the Knicks in decline; they were barely a twice-a-year afterthought to him.
And so we were left to enjoy what we could.
We were left to watch in wonder on the night of Feb. 2, 2009, when Bryant lit up a terrible Knicks team and a mesmerized Garden as he dropped 61 on the Knicks and brought the Garden to its feet, the quintessential tribute for a great player, maybe as loud as the place had been in damn near a decade.