Kobe Bryant Undecided About Retirement, Confident With Lakers’ ‘Promising Future’


Los Angeles Lakers‘ superstar Kobe Bryant says this could “absolutely” be his last season, but his final decision on whether or not he’ll retire will be made after the NBA’s 2015-2016 season, Yahoo Sports reports. Kobe admits that even his fellow NBA players are still uncertain.

“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.’ “

Come judgment day, Kobe Bryant told Marc Spears that his decision about his retirement will never be, in any way, influenced by money. Being the superstar that he is, multi-million dollar deals will easily be available to Kobe Bryant when he becomes a free agent after the NBA 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 … 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.”

The 17-time all-star Kobe Bryant will be playing in the second year of his two-year $48.5 million contract with the Lakers, and Kobe is expected to come back stronger and healthier. Kobe Bryant has been injured for the last two seasons, and he was recorded to have played only 41 games. But Kobe is so much better now, and he shares how good he feels about the improvement of his body, especially around his legs. He says that while he continues building his upper body strength, the biggest change is that he feels very solid in his legs.

Maneuvering the conversation away from him, Kobe Bryant also expressed his thoughts about how the Lakers, through its moves and deals in the off season, have set itself up for a promising future. The Lakers picked guard D’Angelo Russell second overall in the 2015 NBA draft and acquired guard Lou Williams, forward Brandon Bass, and center Roy Hibbert in the free agency. Kobe shares that he thinks the Lakers drafted very well since the free agents they picked were extremely solid, combining a healthy mix of young and veteran leadership.

Having spent 19 years in the NBA, Kobe Bryant is looking forward to playing and running with the “young guns.” When asked about the Lakers’ chances in the upcoming season, Kobe Bryant is confident that the Lakers will make the NBA playoffs.

“Of course it can. Absolutely. We have talented players in their respective positions. We have some really young players. How exactly will the pieces of the puzzle fit? We really don’t know. We are going to [training] camp trying to piece this together just like every other team does. We have to figure out what our strengths are, figure out what our weaknesses are. And every time we step on the court we are going to try to hide our weaknesses and step up to our strengths.”

Last year, the Lakers lost a franchise-worst 61 games and missed the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive season. Lakers have only missed the playoffs in the past 10 seasons when Kobe Bryant was unable to give the team at least 70 games on the floor.

[Image courtesy of Steve Jennings / Getty Images]

Share this article: Kobe Bryant Undecided About Retirement, Confident With Lakers’ ‘Promising Future’
More from Inquisitr