LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored 60 points on 22-of-50 shooting to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016, in his final NBA game. The performance capped a 20-year career for Bryant at the arena in Los Angeles, where celebrities including Jay-Z and Shaquille O'Neal sat courtside.

Before the game, Bryant flew by helicopter from his office in Newport Beach to the arena with a camera crew and NBA senior photographer Andrew Bernstein. Bryant fell asleep five minutes into the flight. He arrived at the arena wearing an all-black suit and sunglasses, smiling as he walked toward the locker room, where he signed autographs for those present.

"I'm going to have some fun tonight," Bryant said before the game. Los Angeles Lakers color analyst Stu Lantz, then in his 29th season in the role, recalled the comment. "When Kobe would say things like that, you knew something special was going to happen," Lantz said in a later interview.

The pregame ceremonies included a speech by Magic Johnson, who called Bryant the greatest Laker ever, a video tribute featuring O'Neal, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry, and a national anthem performance by Flea. A separate video showed Bryant's current teammates sharing their appreciation before the Lakers' starting lineup was announced.

Once the game began, Bryant missed his first five field goal attempts, and the crowd audibly expressed displeasure at each miss. With the Jazz leading 6-4, Bryant recorded a block on Trevor Booker and then made a 10-foot field goal with 5:12 remaining in the first quarter for his first basket. He then made his next five field goal attempts consecutively as the crowd chanted "Kobe."

His fourth consecutive make was a contested corner 3-pointer over Rodney Hood, after which Bryant hopped in front of the Lakers' bench. "That shot has no chance of going in. It went in," Lantz said in a television call. On a later possession, Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas received an inbounds pass and threw an outlet to Bryant, who made a 3-pointer over Jazz forward Joe Ingles and then laughed toward the defender. Bryant played the entire first quarter, scoring 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Ingles, who ran out of the visitors' locker room to warm up before tipoff, recalled the atmosphere in the arena. "No one even cared that we were in the arena, which is understandable," Ingles said. He later reflected on facing Bryant: "I didn't think I'd play in the NBA, let alone play in his last game." Ingles added that following Bryant's death in 2020, "you'll always remember those moments."

The Jazz had been eliminated from playoff contention shortly before the game. The Lakers finished the regular season with a 17-65 record, the worst in franchise history.