Kobe Bryant says the retirement report leaked last week is not true.
Breath a sigh of relief (I think) Lakers fans as Kobe Bryant says the report about him retiring after next season is not true.
Earlier this week The Hollywood Reporter released a story suggesting that Bryant stated the 2015-16 season would be his final in the NBA, though the Black Mamba appeared on Bill Simmons’ Grantland Basketball Hour recently and stated that is not the case.
“That’s not true,” Bryant said when quizzed by Bill Simmons.
Of course, Kobe Bryant wouldn’t go on to say when he plans to retire but it seems as if there might be some intentions to play beyond next season, assuming his body and health hold up.
Simply put, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar isn’t going to hang up his sneakers until he physically has to. Bryant’s the type of player you could see playing until he’s 45, which is rather shocking considering he’s put on an additional three or four seasons of NBA basketball thanks to the Lakers deep playoff runs and was playing full 82-game NBA schedules when he was 18-years-old.
There is a ton of extra mileage on Kobe Bryant, but dude just isn’t going to give up. Sadly, as we saw with Michael Jordan, it’s somewhat painful to watch a player so elite become average as their body breaks down but even at his worst, Kobe is a lot better than most.
