Thanks Kobe.

What was shocking is just how much his decision to call it quits after 20 years and five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers has affected the fans that loved to hate him.

We’re talking about Fremantle’s Michael Crowley or Cronulla’s Michael Ennis levels of hatred.

Suddenly, upon his pending deicision to walk away, fans have realised they respect the 37-year-old almost as much as they love to hate him.

The feeling was captured perfectly by a Boston Celtics fan, who penned an open letter to the Lakers No. 24 on a Celtics fan forum.

The Lakers and Celtics have the longest and most heated rivalry in the NBA, but the author identified on the fan site as Jonathan Jacobson admits he still feels sad to see his tormentor ride on into the sunset.

“Dear Kobe Bryant, I hate you,” the letter begins.

“Can you blame me? As a Celtics fan, I rooted against you for two decades. I rejoiced in your agony when my Celtics beat you in the 2008 Finals. Paul Pierce deserved it way more than you did. You already had three rings at the time.

“But three just wasn’t enough for you. You got your revenge and ultimately your fifth ring in 2010 while ripping my heart out in the process. I hope you still know how lucky you are that Kendrick Perkins was out for Game 7.

“I read your letter in the Players’ Tribune today and was shocked. Not because you announced your retirement – we all already knew that. I was shocked because of the way your letter made me feel.

The end of the Bryant era.Source:Getty Images

“In my mind, I have always grouped you and (New York Yankees baseballer) Derek Jeter together. You are the players that we as Boston fans bitterly hate, but cannot help but respect. “You played the game the right way – with passion, pride, and professionalism.

“You were true students of the game who pursued greatness by working harder than anybody. You became generational icons of your respective sports. You embraced every challenge.

“You gave it your all. You put your bodies on the line. You knew how to win. You respected your sport, your craft, and your rivalry with Boston.”

Jacobson goes on to say he hopes Bryant’s final roadtrip to face Boston at the Boston Garden Arena on December 31 AEDT begins with the usual heckling and sledging at the Lakers veteran.

“This is also the last opportunity for us Celtics fans to cheer our team to victory against arguably the most dominant player in the storied history of the Celtics and Lakers,” he wrote.

“As you go, so goes what is left of the rivalry that once dominated the NBA. Perhaps some day it will be rekindled by new faces. Perhaps not.

“So when you come to the Garden next month, I hope the crowd puts you through hell. I hope we heckle you and boo you more emphatically than we did in the championship bouts.

“I hope you miss every single free throw. I hope you never forget what it’s like to be surrounded by 17,000 screaming fans who bleed green and would give anything to watch you fail one last time.

“I hope we beat LA once again. And when you get pulled from the lineup halfway through the fourth quarter when my Celtics are up by 20 points, I think something beautiful will happen.

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry needs to find some new heroes.Source:Supplied

“Every single person in the Garden will stop booing. We will rise to our feet and show respect in the form of the loudest, most passionate standing ovation you have ever witnessed. We will chant your name. We will wipe our eyes. We will say our bittersweet farewells.

“They say you never truly know what you got ‘til it’s gone. So before you go, I just want to say thank you for being far more than just a great basketball player. To an entire generation of NBA fans, you are basketball.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m really going to miss you.

“Love (and hate) you always, a Celtics fan who didn’t appreciate you enough.”

The fan was responding to Bryant’s letter in The Players’ Tribune in which he confirmed it is time for him to say goodbye.

“You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream,” Bryant wrote.

“And I’ll always love you for it. But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give.

“My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

“And that’s OK. I’m ready to let you go. I want you to know now so we both can savour every moment we have left together.

“The good and the bad. We have given each other all that we have. And we both know, no matter what I do next I’ll always be that kid with the rolled up socks, garbage can in the corner (with) 0:05 seconds on the clock.

Ball in my hands. 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1,

“Love you always, Kobe.”