Kobe Bryant Uses Unique Platform For Retirement Announcement
Kobe Bryant showed his Kryptonite in deciding to end his career.
While Bryant’s competitive drive led some to believe he might make try to keep playing, it comes as no surprise that the Black Mamba has announced that this season will his last.
In a post titled “Dear Basketball,” via The Players Tribune, Bryant reminisces about his childhood dreams of playing professionally and the passion for which he has played the game.
He goes on to state, “My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
Watching him this season, it’s impossible to disagree with him.
He is shooting his lowest career percentage and the increasingly frequent air-balls and missed jumpers are a travesty of the talent of a player who once scored 81 points in a game.
The Lakers remain at the bottom of the Western Conference rankings and their young core are visibly experiencing the growing pains of being a team in the midst of a full re-build.
Instead of the playoffs, the purple and gold will likely look to the 2016 off-season where, if the team continues on their current pace, they will likely keep their top-three protected pick from Phoenix.
In a way, it is perhaps for the best.
With the pick, the Lakers would have the most resources to develop or trade so that they can build a team that will continue without their long-time star.
Fans themselves have also been preparing themselves for the end of the Mamba’s career.
Already, Bryant’s trips to Madison Square Garden and the American Airlines Center in Miami have been as much about appreciating No. 24 one more time as they have been about playing against his Lakers.
Even Nike, a company with whom Bryant has among the most successful lines of signature shoes, has taken steps in anticipation of the Mamba’s impending retirement.
His eleventh shoe was set to release later next year however it’s unveiling has been moved up by several months so that they may benefit from the exposure of being on Bryant’s feet before the end of the season.
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For the game of basketball, he has been a character who reached the same rarified air as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. His trademark intensity and style were both reminiscent of Michael Jordan yet he remained a player completely his own.
For fans of the Lakers, he helped contribute five the of the franchises’ 16 NBA tittles. He brought the “Showtime” era to a new generation of Laker fans. With a memorable cast that included names like Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol, he brought victories over the 76ers, Nets, Pacers, Magic, and Celtics in the NBA Finals.
The season is still only a month old, which means there will be plenty of duels with the likes of LeBron James, Steph Curry, and others before his final farewell.
Each arena he visits will likely give him his due while the Staples Center gives him a heroes welcome now that the future is no longer a mystery.
Bottom Line: Even the best of us have limitations.
For the fans in Los Angeles, there is now only the hope that he remains healthy to play out the final games of the season and give the fans a final moment to appreciate the highlights he has provided over a stellar career.