Retirement questions have been surrounding Kobe Bryant for the better part of the last two seasons. Now heading into his 20th season with the Los Angeles Lakers and the final year on his contract, most believe that this will indeed be Kobe’s final NBA season.
— What will Kobe Bryant make this season? Find out here! —
Kobe has admitted that it probably would be, but has always maintained that nothing was for sure. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, he reiterated the fact that nothing is set in stone just yet:
We haven’t set anything in stone and I’ve talked about it before. But could this be the last [season]? Absolutely. It’s tough to decide. It’s really tough to make those types of decisions. Players I have spoken to say, ‘Kobe you will know.’
“I’m making this very simple. Either I like playing the game and going through this process or I don’t. I try to strip it down to the simplest form. Either I like playing some more or I don’t. But I think that decision needs to be made after the season. It’s hard to make a decision like that before the season.”
Kobe has recently spoken a number of times about enjoying the process of everything. Practicing and working to be the best is what Kobe truly loves to do and it is what keeps him going despite his recent string of injuries and the Lakers on-court struggles.
One positive going into the season is that Kobe believes that there are no questions surrounding what his body can do this season, and he is getting his body ready as he will be playing a lot of small forward this season. Kobe believes the Lakers have a chance to make a playoff run which would be a fitting end should his career come to a close.
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