Man, guys, you
know, I can't believe how fast 20 years went by. This is crazy.
This is absolutely crazy. And to be standing here at center court
with you guys, my teammates behind me and appreciating all this,
the journey that we've been on -- we've been through our ups and
been through our downs, and I think the most important part is that
we all stayed together throughout.
I grew up a
die-hard, I mean a die-hard Laker fan. Die-hard. I mean, I knew
everything about every player that's ever played here. So to be
drafted and then traded to this organization and to spend 20 years
here, I mean, you can't write something better than this.
I'm more proud not
about the championships, but about the down years. Because we
didn't run. We didn't run. We played through all that stuff. We got
our championships, and we did it the right way. All I can do here
is just thank you guys. Thank you guys for all the years of
support. Thank you guys for all the motivation.Thank you for all
the inspiration.
You know, what's
funny, the thing that had me cracking up all night long that the
fact that I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the
ball and on the last night, they're like, 'Don't pass it.' This has
been absolutely beautiful, you guys. I can't believe it's come to
an end. You guys will always be in my heart and I sincerely,
sincerely appreciate it. No words can describe how I feel about you
guys. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you
guys. I love you guys.
To my family -- my
wife Vanessa, my daughters Natalia and Gianna -- thank you guys for
all your sacrifices. For all the hours I spent in the gym working
and training, and Vanessa, you holding down the family the way that
you have, I can't, there's no way that I can thank you enough. So,
from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
And what can I say?
Mamba out.