It's official, LA Lakers star and future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant is retiring after this season after two decades in the league.
He announced his retirement by writing a poem posted in The Player's Tribune and here are some parts of it.
"A love so deep I gave you my all. From my mind & body, to my spirit & soul," Bryant wrote.
"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."
Also, a letter was given to Laker fans at the Staples Center and here is a copy of the letter courtesy of J.A. Adande.
He spoke with Michael Jordan earlier this season to tell the legend that he is retiring by the end of this season. As a piece of advice, Jordan said to simply enjoy it up to the last game per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News .
He also spoke with Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski what's going on in his mind and he can't take the idea of him being outplayed by younger and more athletic players.
"Just thinking about some of the guys that I take advantage of now, taking advantage of me later - that doesn't sit too well with me," Bryant told Wojnarowski.
The NBA will never be the same without Bryant. He paved ways for many aspiring athletes especially those who came out of high-school to play the game. His sense of competition was too high that it also raised the bars for his teammates and his opponents.
