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SPORTSMonday 30 November 2015

Kobe Bryant says he will retire at end of 2015-16 season 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBA        previous two years. He has       Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) shoots the ball over                       lessly devoted to the fran-
star Kobe Bryant has de-      struggled mightily in the first  Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) during the first half                  chise, repeatedly declar-
cided to retire after this    15 games of this season          of an NBA basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015, in Port-                         ing he would never play for
season, ending his 20-year    with mostly young team-          land, Ore.                                                                             another NBA team despite
career with the Los Angeles   mates on a rebuilding ros-                                                                                              the Lakers’ wholesale re-
Lakers.                       ter, making a career-worst                                                                           Associated Press   building process following
The 37-year-old Bryant        32 percent of his shots and                                                                                             the disastrous 2012-13 sea-
made the announcement         dealing with pain and ex-        Pau Gasol for two more     Byron Scott said Bryant in-                                 son with Dwight Howard
in a post on The Players’     haustion every day.              in 2009 and 2010. Only 13  tended to play, even after                                  and Steve Nash.
Tribune on Sunday. The        In recent months, Bryant         players in league history  playing 34 minutes at Port-                                 But Bryant’s departure will
third-leading scorer in NBA   repeatedly said he didn’t        played on more champi-     land on Saturday night.                                     allow the Lakers to finish
history wrote a poem en-      know whether he would            onship teams than Bryant.  “I know his purpose is to                                   straddling the past and
titled “Dear Basketball” to   play another season, clear-      The Lakers (2-13) hosted   finish out this season and                                  the future, with young
announce his decision.        ly hoping for a rebound in       the Indiana Pacers on      play,” said Scott, Bryant’s                                 prospects Julius Randle,
“My heart can take the        his health and the Lakers’       Sunday night, and coach    teammate during the 1996-                                   D’Angelo Russell and Jor-
pounding. My mind can         fortunes.                                                   97 season. “It’s always sad                                 dan Clarkson taking on
handle the grind. But my      Neither has happened,                                       when greatness decides to                                   leading roles rather than
body knows it’s time to say   and the ever-impatient Bry-                                 hang it up. ... I thought he                                deferring to their superstar
goodbye,” Bryant wrote.       ant didn’t wait any longer                                  had at least another year                                   teammate.
“And that’s OK. I’m ready     to decide his future.                                       in him.”                                                    Bryant repeatedly de-
to let you go. I want you     “Kobe Bryant is one of the                                  Bryant is the NBA’s highest-                                clared that he didn’t want
to know now. So we both       greatest players in the his-                                paid player this season                                     a farewell tour in the style
can savor every moment        tory of our game,” NBA                                      with a $25 million salary be-                               of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
we have left together. The    Commissioner Adam Silver                                    stowed on him by grateful                                   or Derek Jeter, his friend
good and the bad. We          said. “Whether competing                                    Lakers owner Jim Buss de-                                   and The Players’ Tribune
have given each other all     in the Finals or hoisting jump                              spite his recent injury prob-                               founder. Yet the Lakers’
that we have.”                shots after midnight in an                                  lems. Bryant has been tire-                                 eight-game road trip be-
Bryant went straight from     empty gym, Kobe has an                                                                                                  ginning next week is almost
high school in suburban       unconditional love for the                                                                                              certain to begin a pro-
Philadelphia to the Lakers    game. I join Kobe’s millions                                                                                            longed goodbye to Bry-
in 1996, and he earned five   of fans around the world in                                                                                             ant, one of the NBA’s most
championship rings and 17     congratulating him on an                                                                                                popular and most divisive
All-Star selections during    outstanding NBA career                                                                                                  players.
two decades with the fran-    and thank him for so many                                                                                               “It’s tough to see one
chise — the longest tenure    thrilling memories.”                                                                                                    of the absolute greatest
with one team in NBA his-     Even during his late-career                                                                                             competitors go through
tory. Bryant also won two     struggles, Bryant’s fans                                                                                                this,” Miami guard Dwy-
Olympic gold medals.          have remained devoted to                                                                                                ane Wade told The Asso-
But Bryant’s last three sea-  the 6-foot-6 star who won                                                                                               ciated Press on Sunday,
sons have ended early due     titles alongside Shaquille                                                                                              prior to Bryant making his
to injuries, and he played    O’Neal in 2000, 2001 and                                                                                                announcement. “You can
in only 41 games over the     2002 before teaming with                                                                                                put a team around a guy
                                                                                                                                                      to help a guy, especially
                                                                                                                                                      late in his career. They’re
                                                                                                                                                      just not in position right
                                                                                                                                                      now to do that. He’s won
                                                                                                                                                      five championships, so no
                                                                                                                                                      one feels bad for him from
                                                                                                                                                      that standpoint. But from a
                                                                                                                                                      standpoint of seeing one
                                                                                                                                                      of this era’s greatest play-
                                                                                                                                                      ers go out in a rebuilding
                                                                                                                                                      process, it’s tough.”q
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