Kobe Bryant Announces His Retirement
"This season is all I have left to give."
These words were part of a poem that Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, arguably the best basketball player of his generation, wrote to announce that he will be retiring at the end of the 2015-16 National Basketball Association season.
Bryant's announcement, which was posted on The Players' Tribune website, was not altogether unexpected as the Lakers guard has had multiple injuries in the last several seasons and had already revealed that he was contemplating retirement. 37-year-old Bryant, who has led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships, is currently struggling through one of the worst seasons of a distinguished 20-year career with the NBA.
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"I can't love you obsessively for much longer," Bryant said in his heartwarming ode titled "Dear Basketball." "My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
"And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go," he wrote.
Bryant is a five-time NBA champion. With him, the Lakers won the title in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010. He has two Olympic gold medals, was named Most Valuable Player in the 2007-08 regular season, and earned MVP honors in the 2009 and the 2010 Finals, having led the Lakers to consecutive championships. He has played in 17 All-Star games and has an 81-point game ranked as the second best in NBA history. After all this and more than 32,000 points, the basketball giant's career is coming to a close.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver commended Bryant's skill and work ethic, calling him "one of the greatest players in the history of our game," and saying, "Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game."
"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," he added.
