Kobe Bryant's Wife Vanessa Excited About 'What God Has in Store' After NBA Retirement
Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, is excited — and this time it isn't because of a $4 million diamond "apology" ring.
On the heels of Kobe Bryant's shocking NBA retirement announcement on Sunday, which rocked the Internet, Vanessa Bryant expressed her excitement for what is to come.
The basketball wife and mother of two took to Instagram Sunday to share a heartfelt message to her husband. "You mean so much to us all," she wrote. "I'm so excited to see what God has in store for us as a family now that one chapter is closing and new ones are opening."
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Kobe Bryant announced his retirement through a poem titled "Dear Basketball," published on the website The Players' Tribune, a media platform that "presents the voices of athletes" through first-person stories.
In the poem, the 37-year-old L.A. Lakers shooting guard expressed his love for the game when he wrote, "From the moment I started rolling my dad's tube socks and shooting imaginary game-winning shots in the Great Western Forum I knew one thing was real: I fell in love with you."
The basketball superstar is the NBA's highest-paid athlete, raking in a tidy $27.8 million this year, according to Forbes. But even at the top of his game, the 21-year NBA veteran has decided that it's time to bid farewell to his first love. "You gave a 6-year-old boy his Laker dream and I'll always love you for it. But I can't love you obsessively for much longer. 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."
Perhaps Bryant can seek retirement advice from former L.A. Lakers point guard Steve Nash, who announced his retirement from the NBA earlier this year in March. Nash also penned a post for The Players' Tribune titled "Life After Basketball," in which he thanked those who influenced him throughout his NBA career, reflected on his love for the sport and contemplated the future.
Bryant has not yet said what his future plans will be, but he might still represent the United States in the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, according to a report from Sports Illustrated. When it comes to having a position on the Olympic team, USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says that Bryant "remains in contention."
