Kobe Bryant Retiring from NBA

After his twenty year run with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant announced via the Players’ Tribune that after the 2015-2016 season he would be hanging up his jersey for good. In a poem he pinned title,

“Dear Basketball,” the 37 year old wrote that:

“[Basketball] gave a six-year old boy his Lake dream and I’ll always love you for that. But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye. And that’s OK. I’m ready to let go.”

This news doesn’t exactly come as a complete shock, given that in the recent weeks the five time champion publicly expressed his consideration of making this season his last. After two decades, two Olympic gold medals, five championship rings, 17 All-Star selections, an 81-point game that ranks as the second-best in NBA history and holding the number 3 spot on the point board with 32,670 points, surpassing Michael Jordan. Regardless of his decision, Bryant leaves behind plethora of awards, titles and accolades and we wish him nothing but the best.