Kobe Bryant has announced he will call time on one of the greatest careers in NBA history when he retires at the end of the season.
The 17-time All Star announced the news on the Players Tribune website. “I’m ready to let [basketball] go,” he wrote.
Bryant, 37, is having the worst season of his 20 year career and clearly feels enough is enough. He has also struggled with injuries over the last five seasons and his LA Lakers currently have the worst record (2-13) in the Western Conference. Bryant himself ranks bottom of the league for field goal and three-point percentage among qualified players this season.
“I can’t love [basketball] obsessively for much longer,” Bryant wrote. “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.”
The NBA commissioner, David Silver, paid tribute to Bryant’s contribution to the league. “With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game,” Silver said. “Whether competing in the finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game. I join Kobe’s millions of fans around the world in congratulating him on an outstanding NBA career and thank him for so many thrilling memories.”
Before Sunday’s announcement, Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade had spoken with sympathy about Bryant’s current struggles. “It’s tough to see one of the absolute greatest competitors go through this,” Miami guard Dwyane Wade told AP. “You can put a team around a guy to help a guy, especially late in his career. They’re just not in position right now to do that. He’s won five championships, so no one feels bad for him from that standpoint. But from a standpoint of seeing one of this era’s greatest players go out in a rebuilding process, it’s tough.”
Bryant’s final season will earn him good money though – he will be paid $25m, more than any other player in the league. Few would say he does not deserve the money he has earned on the court though. He led the Lakers to five NBA titles and is third on the league’s all-time scorers list behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone.
The Lakers coach, Byron Scott, said he believes Bryant has something to offer his team. “I think he still loves this game,” Scott told reporters on Sunday. “He still has a passion for it. He’s still a competitive young man.”
