Kobe tops fan vote, earns final All-Star nod

If Kobe Bryant can avoid the injury ward for another month, he'll get to participate in his first All-Star game in three years, and the last of his NBA career.

Bryant - who had to sit out the last two midseason showcases despite being voted in by the fans - was awarded a starting spot on the 2016 Western Conference squad after leading his peers with 1.9 million votes.

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It was the 17th consecutive All-Star selection for the Los Angeles Lakers lifer, and the 18th of his career, good for second-most all-time behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19). It's the 15th time he's been voted a starter, two more than any other player. For all that's made him one of the game's most polarizing figures over his historic 20-year career, Bryant's popularity has never waned.

The 37-year-old also joins some exclusive company in earning the start at this advanced stage.

Bryant will hang up his sneakers at season's end, and while fans in road arenas have been showering him with affection all year long, sending him to Toronto for one last hurrah is perhaps their greatest retirement gift to him.

Lakers coach Byron Scott has suggested the coaches would've voted him in as a reserve even if the fans hadn't, but there's no telling whether their reverence would indeed have extended that far. Bryant is currently mired in his least productive pro season, averaging 16.3 points, four rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 34.5 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range.