Kobe Interview; says he's thinking of retiring soon

[Andrew]

Graham Bensinger interviewed Kobe Bryant in a series of videos that are available over on Yahoo! NBA. A few noteworthy ones include:

Says he'll likely retire after two more seasons
The feud with Shaq
Advice from Michael Jordan
Struggles with Phil Jackson

Links to the rest can be found underneath each of the videos.

[benji]

Nah, two seasons won't be enough to get past Jordan.

[Mavs4Life]

Nah, two seasons won't be enough to get past Jordan.

I agree with you though. Unless he gets past Miami and OKC this year, Kobe needs another ring to tie up Jordan and I think he needs 2 1/2-3 years to get to him all-time scoring wise.

[Andrew]

He's got 29,484 points for the regular season in his career, while Jordan has 32,292. He only needs to average a little over 17 ppg the next two seasons to surpass him, assuming he plays all 82 games. Jordan's 5987 career points in the Playoffs may still hold up though, as the Lakers may not go deep enough into the postseason for him to score the 348 points required.

[mrmoves20]

I don't want Kobe to retire for he is my fave player!

[Andrew]

Everyone has to, at some point.

[Andrew]

Kobe reiterates 2014 season is likely his last.

Speaking with CBSSports.com in a quiet moment after practice, Bryant conceded that, in all likelihood, the finish line and the conclusion of his current contract will be one in the same. Bryant has two years left, and though he was careful to point out, "One can never be too sure," he made it clear in the next breath it's almost unfathomable he would play beyond 2013-14, which would be his 18th season.

"It's just that three more years seems like a really long time to continue to stay at a high, high level of training and preparation and health," Bryant said. "That's a lot of years. For a guard? That's a lot of years."

Even after visiting the fountain of youth in the form of a knee procedure in Germany that allowed him to average nearly 39 minutes per game last season, Bryant senses that the end is near -- and not only for his knees, wrist, ankles or other body parts, but also for his incomparably competitive mind. The window, he is ready to acknowledge, is two years. Two more chances to catch Jordan.

"It's not about health necessarily," he said. "It's about 'Do I want to do it? Do I have that hunger to continue to prepare at a high level?' "

[benji]

He's done the math on how many points he needs to get past Jordan.

[Andrew]

Seems that way.

[NovU]

I bet you 5 bucks we will have a kobe vs mj discussion once again when that happens.

[benji]

More rings, more points, more Finals, more threes, never played with mutli-HOFs like Jordan got to. Case will be closed for good despite what these bitter butthurt Jordan clingers think.

[NovU]

This is exactly how it starts all the time. Benji throws a bait and sum random cokesucka ofc bites it and say kobe alrdy surpassed mj so he dont need to prove anymoa. And rest is history. I can alrdy sense it coming in tis very thread. Lol

[Andrew]

So often we forget that Steve Kerr won four straight titles, something neither MJ or Kobe accomplished. MJ passed to him in 1997. 'Nuff said.

[_Steve_]

So often we forget that Steve Kerr won four straight titles, something neither MJ or Kobe accomplished. MJ passed to him in 1997. 'Nuff said.

The true hero of the Bulls' second tree-peat saga...

phpBB [video]

[benji]

Changed his mind:

Los Angeles Lakers superstar talked to CNN Turk reporter Barbaros Tapan, you can find his statements about his future plans and his flirt with Turkish team Besiktas last season during the lock-out. “My aim is to play until I’m 40 years old and I believe I can do that. This year, we added very good players to our squad. Steve Nash, Dwight Howard will make us stronger. Right now, things are not going very well but I believe it’ll get better soon.” T

[Andrew]

Huh. Could certainly happen, but let's see how he feels after a couple more NBA seasons, especially if the Lakers do perform below expectations (which is to say, a championship or two).

[_Steve_]

Well playing until he's 40 years old doesn't necessarily mean he'll be still in the NBA when he turns 40. On the other hand he might wan't to become the second player at that age to score 40+ points in a game.
Is this a way of convincing Howard to stick with the Lakers?

[Andrew]

Good point, on both counts.

[LROBA]

[NovU]

[rise]

Two beats one.