Dear Basketball, Kobe Bryant is calling it quits after 20 mostly great years
- 8 years ago
LOS ANGELES — Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant has announced that after 20 years in the NBA, this will be his last season. Bryant made the announcement on The Players' Tribune website on Sunday.
In a first-person poem titled "Dear Basketball," Kobe wrote that basketball "gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream / And I'll always love you for it."
"But I can't love you obsessively for much longer," the 37-year-old wrote. "This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take a pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
Bryant came into the league 20 years ago straight out of high school. With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an MVP, five NBA titles and two Olympic golds, Kobe has been one of the best in the game.
He's struggled this year, averaging 15.7 points per game on a career-low 31.5 shooting percentage. Kobe has been abysmal from behind the arc, shooting 19.5 percent from three-point range.
Kobe is averaging more shots per game — a team high 16.7 — than points, and has helped the Lakers secure last place in the Western Conference with a 2-13 record. That being said, the fans, even the hostile ones, will be lining up this season to catch one last glimpse of greatness.
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In a first-person poem titled "Dear Basketball," Kobe wrote that basketball "gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream / And I'll always love you for it."
"But I can't love you obsessively for much longer," the 37-year-old wrote. "This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take a pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
Bryant came into the league 20 years ago straight out of high school. With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an MVP, five NBA titles and two Olympic golds, Kobe has been one of the best in the game.
He's struggled this year, averaging 15.7 points per game on a career-low 31.5 shooting percentage. Kobe has been abysmal from behind the arc, shooting 19.5 percent from three-point range.
Kobe is averaging more shots per game — a team high 16.7 — than points, and has helped the Lakers secure last place in the Western Conference with a 2-13 record. That being said, the fans, even the hostile ones, will be lining up this season to catch one last glimpse of greatness.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter
Stay connected with us here:
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Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/
Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus