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Bryant, who is struggling through the worst season of his
illustrious 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, said in
a piece posted on the Players' Tribune website that "I'm ready
to let [basketball] go."
The decision was not totally unexpected as the 37-year-old
Lakers guard has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons and
had recently said he was considering retirement.
"I can't love you obsessively for much longer. This season is
all I have left to give," wrote Bryant. "My heart can take the
pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's
time to say goodbye."
Bryant, a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer who is third on
the NBA's all-time scoring list, has a career-worst 31.5
shooting percentage through his first 12 games of the season on
a Lakers team that has the second worst record in the league.
Named Kobe by his parents after they spotted the popular
Japanese cut of beef on a restaurant menu shortly before his
birth, Bryant is now a five-times NBA champion having won titles
in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010.
He was drafted out of high school with the 13th overall pick in
the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets but was traded
shortly after the Lakers for Serbian Vlade Divac.
He has appeared in 17 All-Star games, was named the Most
Valuable Player for the 2007-08 regular season and landed MVP
honors in the 2009 and 2010 Finals when he led the Lakers to
consecutive championships.
Bryant has also won gold medals with the U.S. basketball team at
the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
'THRILLING MEMORIES'
During his career, Bryant made a habit of draining game-winning
shots despite being double or triple-teamed by opponents and has
established a reputation for being one of the best closers in
the NBA.
In his essay, Bryant talked about being a boy who would use his
father's rolled-up socks to shoot imaginary game-winning shots
at the Great Western Forum, where the Lakers played from 1967 to
1999.(http://www.theplayerstribune.com/dear-basketball)
"I'm ready to let you go," wrote Bryant, who trails only Hall of
Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone on the NBA's scoring
list.
"So we both can savor every moment we have left together. The
good and the bad. We have given each other all that we have."
Bryant was sidelined nearly eight months in 2013 with a torn
Achilles' tendon, then played just six games during the 2013-14
season because of a severe knee injury.
Last season, he played 35 games but increasingly suffered
soreness in his knees, feet and back, prompting coach Byron
Scott to cut back significantly on Bryant's playing time going
forward while altering his on-court role.
Lakers head coach Byron Scott, who was Bryant's teammate during
the latter's rookie season, said he was shocked when his player
told him of the decision on Saturday.
"I think he still loves this game. He still has a passion for
it. He's still a competitive young man," Scott said on Sunday.
"His purpose is to finish out this season and play."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in a statement released moments
after Bryant's news surfaced, called the Lakers guard one of the
greatest players in the game.
"Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after
midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the
game," said Silver.
"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."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Andrew
Both/Greg Stutchbury)
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