Michael Jordan helped Kobe Bryant decide when to retire

Bryant says the two have been in frequent contact since the summer.

Nov 30, 2015, 4:24 PM UTC

He didn't officially announce it until Sunday, but for months, Kobe Bryant has known that this season would be his last in the NBA. He admitted as much Sunday night following the Lakers' 107-103 home loss to the Pacers, when he informed the media that his mind had been made up since the summer.

The man he grew up idolizing helped him come to that decision.

"[Michael Jordan] is actually one of the first people that I told over the summer," Bryant said Sunday, via ESPN Los Angeles. "We've been in frequent contact. We had some laughs, went back and forth about it. But the important thing for him, he said, 'Just enjoy it. No matter what, just enjoy it. Don't let anybody take that away from you, no matter what happens, good or bad. Enjoy it, man.'"

Bryant, who turned 37 in August, also explained why he decided that his 20th NBA season would be his last. He specifically pointed out how strange it felt for him to be sharing the court with players born after 1996, the year he began his NBA career.

“We were playing Portland and a kid from the bench said something to me like, ‘We’re going to beat you guys tonight,’” Bryant said, via ESPN. “And I looked at him and I said, ‘I got one rule. If you weren’t born when I started playing, you can’t talk trash. It’s a simple rule.’ And he looked at me and said, ‘Yes, sir.’ No argument.”

Bryant added that at times if felt weird sharing a locker room with players nearly 20 years younger than him.

“I feel like their grandfather,” he said. “I’m not like the older guy. I’m like triple OG. You see what I’m saying? LeBron [James] and those other guys are the old guys now, and I’m way older than them. So they’re vets and I’m like a triple vet.”

Bryant, a five-time champion and 17-time All-Star, is averaging just 15.5 points per game on a career low 31 percent shooting for the 2-14 Lakers.