Kobe says he will retire after this season

Dear Basketball,



From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You 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.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
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 you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe
 
Really should retire now BUT he can stay as they are awful, they can tank, kobe can take 30 shots a game, become the worst team in the NBA then get the 1st pick and draft Simmons :)
 
FreshJays23 said:
Really should retire now BUT he can stay as they are awful, they can tank, kobe can take 30 shots a game, become the worst team in the NBA then get the 1st pick and draft Simmons :)
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Russell / Clarkson / Simmons / Randle / ???

Would be a nice young core!

Also, we don't want to finish with the worst pick. History says that the lottery has never been won from the same position in consecutive years. So with the Wolves winning it with the worst record last year, it means being second worst has the best chance of getting the #1 pick through the lottery
 
GarnettFan4Life said:
:goat: 4/20 today - looks like he's going to go out like a shooting star. Or falling star, however you look at it
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Yeah it's quite sad to see him shoot the way he's is atm I kind of feel sorry for him in a way, I wouldn't want anyone leave the game the way he is, but he said he's happy to give it his all and will continue too until the end, good for him.
 
It's sad and very undignified way to get out of the game. But there is no way Kobe would be playing a reserve role ala Paul Pierce or Shaq. Such a pity that the past two seasons were a write off due to injuries, and one would never know how things could have been if he never got undercut on that jumpshot.
 
Y
nichj99 said:
Russell / Clarkson / Simmons / Randle / ???

Would be a nice young core!

Also, we don't want to finish with the worst pick. History says that the lottery has never been won from the same position in consecutive years. So with the Wolves winning it with the worst record last year, it means being second worst has the best chance of getting the #1 pick through the lottery
Click to expand...

You're serious with that statistic are you??
 
exzibit3 said:
It's sad and very undignified way to get out of the game. But there is no way Kobe would be playing a reserve role ala Paul Pierce or Shaq. Such a pity that the past two seasons were a write off due to injuries, and one would never know how things could have been if he never got undercut on that jumpshot.
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Injuries were only a minor part of his demise, it was the lakers that killed Kobe the 3-4 years.
 
I thought he was retiring immediately, until I read the report through.

I was lucky to see him live vs the Cavs back in January and he played great. He's had his time, the Lakers will stink even if he leaves, play another month Kobe and then retire at Xmas and enjoy life.

Who knows though, he may find some legs and get going a bit, but I think it will be a struggle.

Still, he's one the top 10 ever IMO.
 
exzibit3 said:
How do you mean the Lakers killed Kobe?
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Neglected!!!
Seemed lakers management never tried to revive the team in getting decent players in.
So he was left to carry the team on his own for 3+ years and it's taken its toll mentally and physically.
 
edac6942 said:
Neglected!!!
Seemed lakers management never tried to revive the team in getting decent players in.
So he was left to carry the team on his own for 3+ years and it's taken its toll mentally and physically.
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In all honesty he never did a Tim Duncan and took way less than he was worth so they could get other players but yes, the owners still could have gone over the salary cap if they wanted to like the Nets, Cavs, Mavs. AND the coach never managed his minutes pre/post-injuries.
 
edac6942 said:
Neglected!!!
Seemed lakers management never tried to revive the team in getting decent players in.
So he was left to carry the team on his own for 3+ years and it's taken its toll mentally and physically.
Click to expand...
Not quite true, they managed to get Dwight and Nash but injuries really didn't allow that experiment a real chance to succeed. And as pointed out, Kobe has a big chunk of salary cap with his wages and when your most expensive player is sitting out whole seasons, it's not the best recipe for success.
 
FreshJays23 said:
Most players i thought didnt want to go to the Lakers as Kobe was there?
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Correction - most players that matter chose not to go there because Jim Buss and Kupchack have no idea how to present to a free agent. I mean, Jerry brought in marquee free agent after marquee free agent. Even Aldridge said that Kobe was the best part of the Lakers pitch

Those running their mouths about Kobe are role players at best.
 
exzibit3 said:
Not quite true, they managed to get Dwight and Nash but injuries really didn't allow that experiment a real chance to succeed. And as pointed out, Kobe has a big chunk of salary cap with his wages and when your most expensive player is sitting out whole seasons, it's not the best recipe for success.
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Ok fair enough but Nash was what? 38-39 what can you expect from him?(injuries)
And D Howard is a bit of a pansy even though I support the Rockets he has 1 great game in 10-15 games.
 
edac6942 said:
Ok fair enough but Nash was what? 38-39 what can you expect from him?(injuries)
And D Howard is a bit of a pansy even though I support the Rockets he has 1 great game in 10-15 games.
Click to expand...

Maybe now yes but in Orlando he was good enough to carry that team all the way to the finals
 
edac6942 said:
Ok fair enough but Nash was what? 38-39 what can you expect from him?(injuries)
And D Howard is a bit of a pansy even though I support the Rockets he has 1 great game in 10-15 games.
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To the credit of the Lakers, they tried to get personnel who were ready to make a championship run at that time and Nash was a highly sought after commodity at the time. Just before he left Phoenix, he was playing 32 mins per and averaging a double double still. No one could have expected his leg and then his back to write off his final couple of seasons. Dwight before the Dwightmare was also injury free from his back and was a 20ppg 13 rpg the season before joining the lakers so he was certainly in his prime.
 
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