LA Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Officially Announces He Will Retire After Current Season

Many have heard the rumors for a couple of years now, and the injuries kept on piling up, but it never arrived. Now, it has been made official as The Los Angeles Lakers will not be the same team after this year. Kobe Bryant has officially announced that the current season will be his last with the LA Lakers and in the NBA as he’s going to retire.

BREAKING: Kobe Bryant announces this will be his last season in the NBA. (via @PlayersTribune) pic.twitter.com/blYLFkrigH

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 30, 2015

As reported by CBS Sports, Kobe Bryant had written an emotional article for The Players Tribune in which he said that his career will sadly be coming to an end. The article is simply titled “Dear Basketball” and details his career and that it will soon be over.

“My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”

The LA Lakers have had a youth movement in recent years and the team has simply not been the same. Wins haven’t been there and production has gone down from numerous players as new blood is coming in and veterans are on their way out.

Bryant though, wouldn’t go away. No matter how many injuries he had to deal with or how many times his legs failed on him, Kobe Bryant kept coming back. Now, it’s just gotten to be too much and his body has gotten him to a point where he knows it’s over.

The 37-year-old Bryant officially put an end to his storied career by saying “I’m ready to let [basketball] go.”

As reported by ESPN, Bryant is averaging more field goal attempts per game (team high 16.7) than points (15.7). That points-per-game average is very low for him and he had a career worst 31.5 shooting percentage entering Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers.

Lakers head coach Byron Scott and the entire organization has been supporting the futre Hall of Famer throughout the entire season, despite his struggles. Just this past Friday, Scott said he would not be benching the 17-time All-Star due to his poor play this season.

Kobe Bryant has spent his entire career with the Lakers even though he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets right out of high school back in 1996. Charlotte ended up trading the 13th overall pick to the Lakers, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bryant has helped the Lakers win five NBA championships and was the league MVP back in 2008. Currently, he’s second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, trailing only Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

The letter written in the Players Tribune is one that has a lot of feeling, a lot of emotion, and lets the world know that Kobe Bryant is going to miss the game he has been a part of, for so long.

“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”

While the letter is written to basketball and the sport he so dearly loves, it’s written to so many more. All sports fans around the world know his name and who he is and what he has done, even if they aren’t fans of basketball or the NBA or the LA Lakers.

Kobe Bryant is making way for the next round of stars on the Los Angeles Lakers roster, and finally allowing his body to rest. His retirement after the 2015-2016 NBA season is one that no-one will look forward to as a legend is stepping away from the game.

[Image via Getty Images/David Sherman]