Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant reiterated that the 2015-16 season “absolutely” could be his final one, in a phone interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears on Tuesday.
Kobe Bryant admits this could be his last season
The Lakers’ legend did add that he won’t make any final decisions until after the 2015-16 campaign ends.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The revelation is not new. Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said several months ago that Bryant told him definitively this would be his final year. However, the Lakers legend explained that he hasn't made a final decision and he won't until after the year.
“We haven’t set anything in stone and I’ve talked about it before,” Bryant told Yahoo! “But could this be the last (season)? Absolutely. It’s tough to decide. It’s really tough to make those types of decisions. Players I have spoken to say, ‘Kobe you will know.’”
“I’m making this very simple,” he continued. “Either I like playing the game and going through this process or I don’t. I try to strip it down to the simplest form. Either I like playing some more or I don’t. But I think that decision needs to be made after the season. It’s hard to make a decision like that before the season.”
The 36-year-old Bryant has spent 19 years in the NBA, although the last three have been cut short by season-ending injuries. Next season is the second year of a two-year, $48 million contract, so transitioning into retirement after that deal expires makes sense.
However, Bryant, ever the competitor, isn’t ruling anything out when it comes to playing longer, despite his advanced age and health issues. It’s not a decision he can make at the moment, and whenever it’s time to make that call, it’s going to be a tough one:
Bryant said his body is feeling good as he rehabs from the torn rotator cuff that ended his 2014-15 season. He admitted that he’s “crazy” for continuing to put his body through such rigorous rehabs as he gets older, but he does it for the love of the game and not the money, which won’t be on his mind when thinking about playing past next season:
”Zero. Zero. I’ve never played for the money. It’s never moved me. Money can come and go. I have a perspective about finances. The family is fine. What is more money going to bring other than more money? I have my family, I have my health and we’re comfortable financially and that is a massive blessing.
“I don’t want to undervalue the importance of generating any type of whatever. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m underappreciative of that or not thankful for that. But at the same, what is really important? What is the important thing? I never played for money. When I laced my sneakers up when I was a kid in Italy I wasn’t thinking about money. I had no idea how much Magic (Johnson) or (Larry) Bird got paid. I played it because I loved it.”
Bryant is naturally optimistic about the Lakers’ outlook next season. He believes the team is set up well for the future thanks to the draft and acquisitions made this offseason, and he “absolutely” believes they can make the playoffs.
That may not be realistic given the strength of the West, but the team should be improved with the additions of D'Angelo Russell, Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass. There's also reason for optimism in the future thanks to the presence of Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.
It just remains to be seen how much Kobe is involved in that future.
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