LA Lakers Rumors: Kobe Bryant Reveals When He Will Make Retirement Decision

Kobe Bryant has been a dominant force in the NBA for almost two decades now, and that’s even after suffering numerous injuries. Talk of retirement from the LA Lakers and the NBA as a whole has been rumored for years now, but Bryant keeps coming back. Now, it’s believed that the 2015-16 season will be his last, but he’s finally touched on it and let the sporting world know when he will make his decision.

Every team in the NBA is preparing for the new season by signing new players, making some trades, and getting ready for training camp. As for Kobe Bryant, he’s still being hounded by questions about his retirement.

The 17-time NBA All-Star spoke with Yahoo! Sports earlier this week, and was asked about his impending retirement — again. Bryant did answer once more, and hopes that this response will finally make people ease up on that topic for a while.

“We haven’t set anything in stone and I’ve talked about it before. 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. 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.”

Bryant went on to say that he’s feeling “good” and that his “lower body is solid.” That’s been a huge concern after the numerous leg and knee injuries he’s dealt with over the past few years in the league.

There is no mistaking the fact that Kobe Bryant loves to play the game of basketball, and he wants to play as long as his body will physically let him. If he’s able to go after the upcoming season, then he will play another one.

For now, his focus is on 2015-16 in the NBA, and that’s it. A championship is his goal, and the goal of the Lakers, so retirement talk is going to have to wait. Once the season is over, that is when Kobe Bryant will announce if he’s going to retire or not.

It’s not that he’s simply going to retire after this season.

As Kobe Bryant prepares for the upcoming NBA season, and possibly changing positions, he doesn’t want to talk about retirement. The LA Lakers are looking to win a championship and would rather not have rumors of something that may not even happen for a few years yet.

[Image via Getty Images]