Kobe Bryant is one of the fiercest competitors in NBA history. Few stars of the past or present can compare to the determination and drive Bryant has shown over the course of his career which has spanned over almost two decades.
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With the end drawing near, Kobe is starting to show a different and more vulnerable side. Bryant has admitted to slowing down and not being the same player of old, but he still enjoys the challenge of figuring out have to be effective on the basketball floor, via Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times:
“I love figuring stuff out,” Bryant says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, I don’t know if I’m going to play an extra [next] year, but while I’m playing, I want to be able to figure this stuff out.”
As the third all-time leading scorer in NBA history and a five-time champion, Kobe’s legacy will endure for years to come regardless of whether he calls it a career this year or the next.
With Kobe struggling to stay healthy on a nightly basis for the Lakers, the superstar shooting guard has expressed doubt about whether he’ll play out the rest of his contract. Bryant is under contract for one more season and will be paid a league-high $25 million in his farewell season.
Unfortunately, the rigors of an 82-game season has started to take a toll on the future Hall of Famer. Bryant can’t play every night like he has in the past and that seems to threaten his stance on wanting to retire in the summer of 2016.
Although Bryant might ultimately retire early his competitive drive hasn’t changed. That fire inside to prove everyone wrong still burns as hot as ever and that might be enough to play next season, but that could change over the course of the next 41 games.
[divide]Lakers Kobe Bryant Discusses Future Possibility Of Being Shutdown