He is the only player in NBA history to spend 20 years with one team, and he has decided that this season is all he has left to give. Lakers star Kobe Bryant announced that he will retire after this season Sunday after a 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Bryant seemed to be at peace with this decision when speaking to the media Sunday night.
The Lakers star cracked jokes about his career and recent struggles, and repeated over and over that he has no regrets about this decision or his career, despite his numbers dropping as his health has declined.
Bryant has struggled for the rebuilding Lakers this season, including shooting a career-worst 31.5 percent thus far. His field goal percentage from three-point range ranks last in the NBA among qualified players. He's also dealt with common aches and pains of an aging basketball star, causing him to play in just 41 of a possible 164 games the past two seasons.
The final 66 games are expected to be a goodbye tour for the Bryant, as Los Angeles remains at the bottom of the West with a 2-14 record. Coincidentally, the Lakers' next game is tonight at Philadelphia, Kobe's hometown.
The soon-to-be retired star is the highest-paid player in the NBA as he is in the final year of a two-year deal, and will be paid $25 million this season. He does remain in contention for a spot on Team USA for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but it is unknown if he will play if selected to participate.
Before his recent struggles on the court and in the trainer's room, Bryant led the Lakers back to the promise land five times. That included winning three titles in a row from 2000-2002, and back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. A well-forgotten fact is that he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, before getting traded to the Lakers, and reaching the top of the league.
He ranks third on the all-time scoring list, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Bryant sky-rocketed up that list with an 81-point performance on January 22, 2006 against the Toronto Raptors. That ranks as the second-highest scoring game, behind Wilt Chamberlain's famous 100-point performance.
From Shaq to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom to Derek Fisher, and of course, Phil Jackson, Bryant has surrounded himself with a number of successful names in the league en route to a successful and historic Hall of Fame career.
The Lakers star cracked jokes about his career and recent struggles, and repeated over and over that he has no regrets about this decision or his career, despite his numbers dropping as his health has declined.
Bryant has struggled for the rebuilding Lakers this season, including shooting a career-worst 31.5 percent thus far. His field goal percentage from three-point range ranks last in the NBA among qualified players. He's also dealt with common aches and pains of an aging basketball star, causing him to play in just 41 of a possible 164 games the past two seasons.
The final 66 games are expected to be a goodbye tour for the Bryant, as Los Angeles remains at the bottom of the West with a 2-14 record. Coincidentally, the Lakers' next game is tonight at Philadelphia, Kobe's hometown.
The soon-to-be retired star is the highest-paid player in the NBA as he is in the final year of a two-year deal, and will be paid $25 million this season. He does remain in contention for a spot on Team USA for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, but it is unknown if he will play if selected to participate.
Before his recent struggles on the court and in the trainer's room, Bryant led the Lakers back to the promise land five times. That included winning three titles in a row from 2000-2002, and back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. A well-forgotten fact is that he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, before getting traded to the Lakers, and reaching the top of the league.
He ranks third on the all-time scoring list, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Bryant sky-rocketed up that list with an 81-point performance on January 22, 2006 against the Toronto Raptors. That ranks as the second-highest scoring game, behind Wilt Chamberlain's famous 100-point performance.
From Shaq to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom to Derek Fisher, and of course, Phil Jackson, Bryant has surrounded himself with a number of successful names in the league en route to a successful and historic Hall of Fame career.
