Dear Basketball,

So... Kobe announces his retirement ON MY FUCKING BIRTHDAY. Worst gift ever. Wow.


Dear Basketball,



From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

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

Kind of a cool way to do it. I have to believe it's for the best, though. He's heeded the signs, after all.

These god damn motherfucking onions up in here. Right in my god damn feels.

Used to hate this guy when I was a kid because of his arrogance but as time went on I saw how he loved the game and how hard he works for it now he is one of my favorite players. Hopefully those season-ending injuries are enough to train us a league without Kobe Bryant.

Gotta get my Hornets vs Lakers tickets now. Kobe was always my least favorite player when he was leading the Lakers to championships, but rooting against him hasn't been the same for several years now. The league was better when the Lakers were more fun to hate.

Honestly besides Jordan I don't think I got to watch a better basketball player in his prime than Kobe!

It's sad that he couldn't go out on his terms just like Steve Nash had to bow out too.

But does this mean he will stop playing basketball from now on?

Retiring at the end of the season Rob.

Retiring at the end of the season Rob.

Oh. I thought this was an already established fact since I remember him saying this would be his last season.

Retiring at the end of the season Rob.

Oh. I thought this was an already established fact since I remember him saying this would be his last season.

No, he was only hinting at it before.

I'm not crying, it's just been raining on my face....

I always imagined Kobe would rather die first than retire. But hey, it's been a great career. If anything though that worries me is how Kobe will do in retirement. I do hope he doesn't end up like one of those guys that become self destructive and being unable to cope with sitting idle. That thing Kenny Smith said about TNT having a seat open for Kobe if real, it would be interesting in to see a Kobe and Shaq reunion behind the TNT desk.

Last edited by Bruce on Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I doubt it. If you watch his press conference you hear and sort of see he's got a really clear vision of what he wants to do.

It's actually kind of weird to see how relaxed he is about it. This is a guy that's been consumed by basketball since I can remember and now he's all like...yeah, I love telling stories and my mind doesn't drift to basketball in meditation as often as it used to.

Kobe smiling on the court after that 3 against the Pacers instead of the death stare? Yeah, Kobe's done with the game as a player.

It definitely is weird, but I think reality has been staring him in the face, and he's finally been able to make peace with it. If he was still able to go anywhere near like he could before he injuries his Achilles in 2013, he'd probably be more conflicted and waiting until the offseason to make any decisions.

the great thing after Kobe's announcement is that every game after there is some sort of celebration. lol

It definitely is weird, but I think reality has been staring him in the face, and he's finally been able to make peace with it. If he was still able to go anywhere near like he could before he injuries his Achilles in 2013, he'd probably be more conflicted and waiting until the offseason to make any decisions.

It certainly appeared back then that Kobe would continue to play until he became the all-time leading scorer. It changed really quickly when he blew his Achilles. Lakers fans will forever be cursing Mike D'Antoni for running him into the ground.

Just re-watched that game, vintage Kobe.

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To be fair to D'Antoni, though he's certainly deserving of criticism, I doubt that Kobe himself was all that willing to pull it back. His competitive nature seemed to work against him as he was playing hurt, ultimately sustaining the Achilles injury, and then suffered subsequent injuries trying to come back early from it.