The NBA season is winding down, but the ratings will tick up for a couple big-buzz games on ESPN. The Golden State Warriors are gunning for their shot at a record 73 wins, facing the Memphis Grizzlies in the Bay Area. The game is on ESPN at 10:30 p.m. ET as the Warriors, led by seemingly unstoppable Stephen Curry, aim to surpass the 72-win mark set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
“We have an opportunity to do something that no one has done,” Curry said on NBA.com.
Downstate a few hundred miles, the Los Angeles Lakers are finishing up a miserable season with but one milestone left to attain: Kobe Bryant’s last NBA game. The 16-65 Lakers host the Utah Jazz at Staples Center, with a crush of media, a video tribute and untold adulation for Bryant, who joined the Lakers 20 years ago as a teenager.
That game too airs at 10:30 ET, on ESPN 2.
TNT’s on-air basketball crew weighed in on Bryant’s departure, with Charles Barkley offering the cryptic star a position. “Kobe, if you want a job at TNT, you got it,” japed Barkley. “Don’t worry about [Turner president] David Levy—[studio host] Ernie Johnson runs things around here in Atlanta. If you want a job at Turner Sports, just let us know—we got room for you.”
