One of the GOATs is thinking about permanently hanging it up
Kobe Bryant is a lot of things, but he’s not a quitter. There’s always been fight in #8, or #24, whether his team is atop the Western Conference standings, or struggling to get into the playoffs. However, it appears the needle on that fightometer–if you will–is nearing zero at a more rapid pace than either Bryant or the Lakers envisioned.
This year, all things considered, his output isn’t shabby at all. He’s being limited to 32 minutes per game, but is still pumping out about 23 points, and a shade under 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game. The Lakers have admitted that if they’re completely out of playoff contention by March–it’s worth noting they’ve pretty much been completely out of playoff contention since Christmas–they may shut Bryant down for the season, but in the back of his head, he may have a more elaborate definition of “shut down.”
In a Los Angeles Times profile written by tenured sports journalist Bill Plaschke, Kobe admits that retirement is something that’s crossed his mind. “I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind. Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible.”
The Lakers are headed into tonight’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns–a playoff team if the regular season ended today–with an abysmal 12-29 record, and considering analysts are skeptical about the .500 Oklahoma City Thunder’s chances of making the playoffs, there’s little hope for Bryant’s bunch. So it isn’t as if Kobe’s being rested in order to prepare for extensive spring basketball. His physicality just isn’t what it used to be. “My body is hurting like crazy, around the clock, and if I don’t want to do this anymore, I won’t do it.” He went on to add, “I don’t care about the money. If I don’t feel like doing it, I won’t do it.”
Chances are he won’t announce anything until the Lakers’ nightmarish season concludes, but it’s pretty hard to imagine the NBA without Kobe Bryant.
