Kobe Bryant is Retiring at the end of the season

[crazy8ights]

Cool little quote on how he knew it was time.

“I try to have at least 15 minutes of still time and just kind of sit in my thoughts in the morning and just kind of meditate. And normally what happens with me is my mind would always drift to the game. Always,” he said in reply to Roberts’ question during the Tuesday interview. “And then I found myself sitting there. My mind wouldn’t drift towards the game all the time anymore. And that’s when I started realizing, ‘You know what? It’s getting close. It’s getting close.’ Because now I’m not obsessively thinking about the game anymore. It’s not wired into my subconscious the way it used to be.”

-Kobe

http://www.lakersnation.com/kobe-bryant-basketball-not-wired-into-my-subconscious-the-way-it-used-to-be/2015/12/03/

[gts1]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Dear Retirement (a.k.a. Dear Kobe)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar @kaj33 Dec. 2, 2015

"Retirement, embrace him like you did me"

Dear Retirement from Basketball,
(for Kobe Bryant)

You don’t suck, retirement. I thought
You would. With no crowds to cheer.
No competitors to pump addicting adrenalin every day.
No satisfying sound of the ball swooshing through the net
Like a melon through silk.
No frown of frustration on your opponents’ faces.
No salty smell of victory as exhausted bodies
rush to the locker room.
No purpose.

I was wrong.

You gave me other gifts I wasn’t expecting. That final year
when each city I visited showered me with glory and gifts
and pure love. The fans cheered, stomped feet, battered hands,
not because I was scoring points in one last game,
but because they wished me well on whatever I did next.

They wanted to say thanks for the memories:
the games where the father waved the foam finger with his giggling young son,
the games where the family talked about thrilling plays on the car ride home,
the games where kids saw players make moves that seemed physically impossible,
that they would try to duplicate the next day on the playground.
The humility I felt that year made me strive to be worthy of their appreciation.
If no longer as a player, then as a man.

You were generous, retirement. You let me discover who I was
without a ball in my hand and a number on my back.
I found a man with many other passions.
As a player, I had dabbled in writing like a would-be singer
who only sings in the shower. But you gave me
precious time to find my more mature voice,
and the courage to share my words with the world.
Even when they didn’t cheer.

Most important, you let me relearn
the glorious joys of basketball as a fan. In the stands
or on the couch, I am a cheering enthusiast,
rooting my team to victory.
You returned me to my childhood awe of just watching and loving the game.

You also let me appreciate the magnificent young athletes who replaced me.
Knowing I wouldn’t have to face them on the court,
I didn’t have to worry about strategies,
I could just marvel.

Like I marveled at Kobe Bryant.
Lord, that man could soar, could score, could leap from shore to shore.
He brought poetry back to the game
and to the hearts of the fans.
The poetry of form and function, motion and mindfulness.
He saw the court the way a sculptor looks at a block of marble
and imagines the great art waiting to be revealed.
And he revealed it game after game.

Retirement, embrace him like you did me. Teach him
all that you taught me about finding who I was off the court.
My place in the community.
My purpose.
Most of all, help him realize that there is no such thing as retirement,
merely passing from one room into another.
A bold adventure in self-discovery
where he may find a new Kobe
who may surprise and delight him all over again.


http://time.com/4133199/kareem-abdul-jabbar-kobe-bryant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29

[TyCobb]

Awesome.

[tugs]

That hit me harder. Wow.

[Slava]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/KLChouinard/status/672454826496774144[/tweet]

[Dr Aki]

they should've named a cow after kobe instead

[kinein]

savor every second people, there will never be another Kobe Bryant.

watch his prime years highlight if you want to savor his greatness, I dont think anybody will want to remember this current Kobe.

It makes me really sad just knowing that kid's growing up nowadays won't get to see the same Kobe we all had the pleasure of watching play over all these years. Kobe was part of the reason why I became not only a Lakers fan but a basketball fan. Whether you hated him or loved him, the guy was must see tv. Growing up all I did before school was watch Sports Center so hopefully ESPN does some highlights of Kobe's greatest games during this last season to expose these kids to Kobe's greatness.

You know, if they had a good roster ( Kobe + 14 other players that could get on his level ) - Kobe wouldn't be retiring. I think Gasol leaving was what hurt the most in terms of chances Kobe would have played a few more years.

I don't see Tim Duncan continuing to play at the level he is playing at if you switch out the 14 teammates he has, and give him the hodgepodge of veterans and rookies that Kobe's got.

[Slava]

Raptors gave him a nice gift:

https://www.instagram.com/p/_BLr9HKhh0/

[Sedale Threatt]

The reception Kobe is getting on the road is pretty awesome. I'm having a tough time separating how horrendously he's playing, but it's at least cool to see how opposing fans and players are sending him off.

[crazyeights]

The reception Kobe is getting on the road is pretty awesome. I'm having a tough time separating how horrendously he's playing, but it's at least cool to see how opposing fans and players are sending him off.

It's confusing, isn't it? Kobe's career has been a tale of cognitive dissonance, and no more so than now.

I'm both proud and repulsed by the same person. Polarizing figure even to his own fanbase.

I've spent more time arguing with people about Kobe Bryant than just about any subject. For better or worse, he's been basketball for me for a long time.

[Sedale Threatt]

The reception Kobe is getting on the road is pretty awesome. I'm having a tough time separating how horrendously he's playing, but it's at least cool to see how opposing fans and players are sending him off.

It's confusing, isn't it? Kobe's career has been a tale of cognitive dissonance, and no more so than now.

I'm both proud and repulsed by the same person. Polarizing figure even to his own fanbase.

I've spent more time arguing with people about Kobe Bryant than just about any subject. For better or worse, he's been basketball for me for a long time.

I've been having this same love/hate battle for 20 years now. Guy helped us win five titles, but there have been so many nights where I absolutely loathed his approach to the game.