Kobe Bryant to retire after this season

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Kobe Bryant, who helped the Lakers win five http://www.authenticcelticsstore.com/authentic-32-kevin-mchale-jers... NBA championships over a 20-year career spent entirely in Los Angeles, announced Sunday on The Players' Tribune website that he will retire after this season, writing that "this season is all I have left to give."

In a first-person story titled "Dear Basketball," the 37-year-old wrote in the form of a poem that the sport "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," Bryant wrote. "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."
Lakers coach Byron Scott said Bryant will Shabazz Muhammad Womens Jersey play in Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers and emphasized that the star guard's "purpose is to finish out this season and play."

"I think he still loves this game," Scott told reporters. "He still has a passion for it. He's still a competitive young man."

Scott said he was "shocked" when Bryant informed him Saturday night that he was going to announce his retirement the following day.

"He kind of shocked me when he told me," Scott said. "[I'm] just sad more than anything. Just sad more than anything. Somebody who I truly care about, have a lot of respect for. I think it's always hard when greatness like Kobe decides to hang it up."

Bryant's decision is not totally Jason Williams Youth Jersey unexpected, given that he has said many times in recent weeks that he has considering making this season his last. After two decades, two Olympic gold medals, five championship rings, 17 All-Star selections, an 81-point game that ranks as the second-best in NBA history and more than 32,000 points, Bryant's career is officially winding down.

"With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game.
"I join Kobe's millions of fans around the world in congratulating him on an outstanding NBA career and thank him for so many thrilling memories."

Fans arriving at Staples Center on Sunday received a letter from Bryant in a black envelope embossed with gold.
"What you've done for me is far greater http://www.officialnuggetsshop.com/authentic-3-ty-lawson-jersey.html than anything I've done for you," Bryant wrote in the letter to fans. "I knew that each minute of each game I wore purple and gold. I honor it as I play today and for the rest of this season. My love for this city, this team and for each of you will never fade. Thank you for this incredible journey."

This season has been a struggle for Bryant, whose young and rebuilding Lakers are mired at the bottom of the Western Conference standings; he's also shooting a career-worst 31.5 percent. Injuries have dogged him in recent years as well, limiting him to 41 of a possible 164 games the previous two seasons. Bryant is averaging more field goal attempts per game this season (a team-high 16.7) than points (15.7). His field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage both rank last in the NBA among qualified players.