Kobe Bryant to retire after this season

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) drives against IN… According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says Bryant “remains in contention” for a spot on the 2016 Olympics roster despite his upcoming retirement. This season, he’s scoring at a rate of 15.7 points per game.

After Bryant had controversial statements about Jackson and O’Neal in a book, he eventually made up with both and his fortunes also turned for the better on the court.

Bryant then shot an airball on a potential tying 3-pointer with 6 seconds to play, and everybody was reminded why Kobe is ready to walk away from basketball in the spring.

He has appeared in 17 All-Star games, was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2007-08 regular season and landed MVP honours in the 2009 and 2010 Finals when he led the Lakers to consecutive championships.

“What you’ve done for me is far greater than anything I’ve done for you”, Bryant wrote. Jordan was an All-Defensive Player of the Year, and Bryant never won the award.

But Bryant’s clarity on his future ensures the Lakers will have enough cap space to pursue two marquee free agents next summer. “I knew that each minute of each game I wore purple and gold”. Roy Hibbert’s old squad will pay him a visit in the second half of the Lakers’ back-to-back, looking to shake off the dust Damian Lillard and C.J.

The Lakers had expected Bryant would retire following his 20th National Basketball Association season. “I know his objective is to finish out this season and play”.

There are 67 more games of Bryant on a miserable Lakers team. Bryant has a ring for every finger on his hand, while numerous past legends and his contemporaries are not even a stone’s throw from equaling his team success.

The long, at times exceptional, at others wildly controversial career of Kobe Bryant is set to draw to a close. No matter how many injuries he had to deal with or how many times his legs failed on him, Kobe Bryant kept coming back.

“The surprising part of this is that he made this announcement today”, Kupchak said. I haven’t watched any of their games.

Notoriously egotistical, he was often accused of glory hogging and criticised for his apparent unwillingness to pass – evident in his career stats, which have him third on the all-time scoring list, but not even cracking the top 25 for assists, despite playing as a guard his whole career.