Kobe Bryant is currently struggling through a very difficult season individually and team-wise as the Los Angeles Lakers have just two wins and are the worst team in the Western Conference. Bryant is in his 20th NBA season and there has been a lot of speculation about whether this would be his last but on Sunday evening he ended the speculation by announcing that he would retire after this season in a poem for The Players Tribune.
Bryant has been the topic of a lot of discussion for the Lakers recently as he has played terribly so far this season. He does lead the team with 15.7 points per game but he is shooting just 32 percent from the field and many were wondering why a living legend would want to continue to play so poorly. Besides the poor play Bryant has also had issues with his body in recent years as the three seasons before this one had ended with season-ending injuries.
Despite his bad play this season Kobe will go down as one of the greatest players, not just of this generation, but of all time. LeBron James often gets the Michael Jordan comparisons but in reality Kobe was the closest thing we have seen to Jordan since he retired. Bryant will end his career with five championships, 17 All-Star Game appearances, a regular season MVP award and two NBA Finals MVP awards.
Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets back in 1996 at the age of 17 with the 13th overall pick but on draft night he was traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac and he never wore another jersey in his NBA career. With the Lakers extremely unlikely to make the playoffs this season it seems as though Bryant's final NBA game will be on April 13 against the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center.
Although Bryant is retiring from the NBA there is still a chance he could be on Team USA's Olympic roster in for the 2016 games in Rio. Kobe is not a lock to make that team but he has said all along that he wants to be a part of it and chairman Jerry Colangelo has said he will still be in consderation.
Fans of the NBA that are just getting into it now may see Kobe as an old man who is no longer capable of playing the game of basketball but until a couple of years ago when injuries really started to get to him Bryant was one of the best players in the league. The NBA and the Lakers will be losing one of its all-time greats next year but it is clearly the right time for him to say goodbye.
