The Last Night Kobe Was King

Heading into the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, the league was abuzz with one major storyline: Where will Carmelo Anthony be traded?

While NBA journalists were scrambling to break the news on Melo's future, the NBA's elite young All-Star talent (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, to name a few) all landed in Los Angeles that weekend to make their mark in front of a sold-out Staples Center.

Amid this group of superstar youth stood a grizzled future Hall of Fame veteran who refused to pass the torch: Kobe Bryant. The Lakers were still the two-time defending champions, and Kobe was on his home court. What transpired was one of the greatest all-time All-Star Game performances...the last night Kobe was king.