Kobe Announces He Will Retire After This Season

very well written

it pains me to see him go out like this but nothing can take away all the memories and the legacy he'll leave behind. 20 seasons, what a ride it's been. very soon we'll see the rise of the next lakers great who will join the ranks of west, baylor, wilt, worthy, magic, kareem, kobe, and shaq.

until then, i'll be trying to take in all that kobe's got left in this final season. we'll never witness another like him

 

Regardless of these past seasons, Kobe will retire as the greatest Laker in history.

 

Mixed emotions. Sad that arguably the greatest Laker will retire but excited that we're moving on to the next phase.

 

I've seen a lot of Laker greats come and go, Kobe has been one of my favs, I'm glad he said it now as the hate will dissipate, giving his critics, pause to just leave him be.Now the rest of the season he can just relish in the tributes given him. It also will be nice to see all the old footage of his greatness being shown regularly to remind everyone what we see now is not why he's held in such high regard.

 

Just read the poem, that was the saddest s*** ever. Pretty sure I'll tear up during his retirement announcement

 

When I first heard about the announcement, I was just shocked and not sad at all. But it's slowly been sinking in and it's got me a little depressed. If he made that 3 at the end of this game to send it to OT, I would've teared up big time. It was still awesome to see that heroic 3 late in the game. Love you mamba!

 

Had that one Kobe moment at the end, but followed it up with a cold glass of reality. Ah well, it was fun for that short while

 

I was three when Kobe entered the league, growing up in a Lakers family got me watching him at that age. The majority of my life has been shared with this guy through a screen.

I've been spoiled as a basketball fan, the one constant being Kobe outperforming his competition, playing every game like it was his last. I've watched him enough to the point where I can call what he's going to do with the ball yet I'm still surprised when he makes that impossible shot. The players are great now but they will never come close to his competitiveness, his level of preparation, his knowledge of the game. The last of a breed.

Laker games have been hard to watch this season, it's been hard to watch Kobe out there struggling to do moves he's done thousands of times before but I'll watch every game hoping to see him fight Father Time, even for a second, to pull off a vintage Kobe move. That last game is going to be rough but man what I would to get tickets to that one.

Thanks Kobe Bryant. Thanks for all the championships you brought to this city, for the countless jaw dropping moments, for the 81, for those buzzer beaters that leave me voiceless. Love him or hate him, but he's (arguably) the GOAT.
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The writing was on the wall all season but man.... I wasn't ready for this feels trip.
I desperately wanted Kobe to make that last 3 but life isn't a Hollywood story.

 

I hate that he had to go out on such a low note. Like I wanted him to make the playoffs at least or win one more for the road, but 5 is enough and he's cemented his legacy. I followed him from afro Kobe to now and it's a bitter pill to swallow because he inspired me as a girl who loves basketball.

I'm going to be in my feels for a while, but I am excited to see how this organization rebuilds this team.

 

Just not Sad. Last year I would have still been sad. It's time and there are too many games left to have to watch Kobe continue to try to do things he obviously can't do to the detriment of the young guys. I would relish watching Kobe go out the right way, playing within his limits and developing the young guys. But I'm all out of appreciation for him hurting the team when he's on the floor just because he thinks we need to see him try to make difficult shots. I truly cherish the memories but get no joy out of watching this. I have to forget this sendoff and only remember the dominant force he was for so long.

 

Been expecting this to come this year and to be honest I got my sadness about Kobe being done (as Black Mamba Kobe) over the last few years with the injuries. So, not sad at this and it's very much expected. I also grew up during showtime and Magic's retirement announcement, now that was sad and shocking. I remember where I was and everything about that moment; the entire city was shell-shocked.

But I am very thankful to Kobe that he's given us around 17 years of super-hero ball. The last few years of dealing with the injuries and the contract killing us are damn well worth it.

Who wouldn't sign off on another 17 years of Black Mamba knowing you had to deal with 3 down years at the end of it?