On Kobe Bryant’s Last Night As An Active Player, The Media Turned To Facebook Live


The NBA regular season ended on Wednesday night and while many fans are now gearing up for what looks to be a very compelling postseason, the season finale turned out to be one of the most memorable nights in regular season history. The Golden State Warriors won their 73rd game of the season to eclipse the legendary 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team and the basketball world also bid farewell to Kobe Bryant.

In this age of social media and digital engagement, many fans and media members alike took advantage of this moment through Facebook Live, which has been new tool that is being used to give fans an inside look into events like Kobe Bryant’s final game with views that aren’t shown during the game broadcast.

With its ease of use and massive global audience it has proven to make a profound impact on the sports world as well as provide videos that were watched by fans around the world.

While we will never see Kobe Bryant participate in another NBA game, NBA and Kobe Bryant fans will be able to re-live the night for years to come from all angles of the Staples Center.

The videos below represented just a small percentage of the videos produced by Facebook Live that night.

Facebook Live Videos: 

ESPN/Darren Rovell goes live from the court

ESPN/Darren Rovell goes live from the team store

Mundo ESPN/goes live from outside the arena

Local FOX LA reporter Liz Habib/shared Kobe’s arrival at the arena

FOX Sports/went live from outside the arena

FOX Sports/spoke with fans outside the arena

FOX Sports/went live from outside the arena (2): 

FOX Sports/went live to show the incredible lines outside the arena

Andy Nesbitt of FOX Sports/went live talking to fans outside the arena

120 Sports had Antoine Walker on to discuss Kobe’s last game

120 Sports held a pre-game discussion on the game

Sports Illustrated/went live to discuss the Warriors and Kobe’s last game

USA Today Sports/went live from pre-game at Staples Center 

NBA on ESPN/went live with Baxter Holmes’ during post-game

Local ABC LA reporter Rob Fukuzaki went live during pre-game