Kobe Bryant’s name has been popular over the past couple of days after rumors began circulating that the “Black Mamba” could be considering coming out of retirement to play with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite all of the excitement that the rumors brought, Bryant is not coming out of retirement.
According to an Instagram post from Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, the comeback is not happening and Kobe has no desire to return to playing basketball.
“Kobe will not be coming out of retirement to play again. He doesn’t want to play again and frankly we really enjoy spending time together as a family without the crazy game schedule interfering with birthdays, holidays and special events.”
All of the rumors started when Bryant’s former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, stated that Kobe was “coming back” to TMZ . Whether he was serious or just messing around, it caused chaos within the NBA community.
Bryant has been very vocal about James signing with the Lakers. He thinks it was a great move and will bring championship contention back to his city.
“Look, Jerry was here. Elgin Baylor was here. Wilt was here. Magic was here. Kat was here. Shaq. Myself. Now, let’s carry it forward again, right? You’ve got LeBron here now. It’s his turn now. Hopefully he can — which he will, he’ll take this franchise back to its prominence, man. So I’m excited. I bleed purple and gold.”
Shaq Says ‘Kobe Bryant’s Coming Back’ https://t.co/qZ9BwK59SJ
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 30, 2018
To say that seeing James and Bryant play together in L.A. would be a major understatement. There are thousands of NBA fans who would pay big money to see that happen. Unfortunately, it seems like Bryant is done with basketball for good, even if he is still in great shape and capable of playing at a high level.
It will be interesting to see what else comes out in the future about Bryant. As fast as this rumor caught fire and spread around the internet, more rumors are sure to pop up about Bryant and other players moving forward.
Los Angeles may be ecstatic to have James on the roster, but they are still a Kobe city. He may not return to the court, but there will be craziness when he returns to Staples Center in the future to watch James and the Lakers.
Expect to see fans continue hoping to see a Bryant comeback in the future. He is not quite 40-years-old and rumors have been circulating that he is still in game shape. That being said, it appears Mrs. Bryant has squashed the rumors for now.
