Kobe Bryant News: Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul Present Retirement Gifts For 'The Black Mamba'
Los Angeles Lakers franchise player Kobe Bryant is continuing to receive forms of goodwill from his colleagues.
"The Black Mamba" is set to retire at the end of the 2015-2016 NBA regular season, after 20 seasons in the league.
A first round pick (13th overall) during the 1996 NBA regular season, he has amassed a number of notable accolades along the way, including five NBA titles, two NBA finals Most Valuable Player honors, and the 2008 MVP award. He has also won four NBA All-Star MVP awards in 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011, respectively.
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After announcing his retirement towards the end of 2015, many teams over the course of the season paid their mini tributes for Bryant.
Some of them presented him with retirement gifts that were rather laughable in nature. In a report by USA Today, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul each had something for Bryant.
Anthony did present a classy Magnum of Italian wine, but Chris Paul thought of putting a little humor in by giving Bryant a dental adhesive, a pair of reading glasses, a cane, and a pair of compression socks. Wade, on the other hand, gave Bryant a robe and a one-year subscription to Netflix.
For his part, Bryant was simply grateful for the show of respect that he has been receiving, noting that he was able to have a deep sense of appreciation for his fellow players throughout the years that they have been competing against each other.
"It was really special. Those are the things you don't get a chance to hear when you're competing against each other," Bryant said in an interview with the Associated Press.
"It has hit me," he added. "I feel very thankful. I feel very thankful. It's not an exciting thing. It's not a sad thing. It's just, I feel very thankful to be able to have had the career I've had."
