When Kobe Bryant takes the floor on April 13 against the Utah Jazz, it will truly be his last act on a basketball court.
The immediate Hall of Famer and Top 10 (at worst) player in history will walk off the Staples Center floor to a raucous, standing ovation, never to play competitively again.
There was some speculation that we’d see Bryant in the red, white and blue jerseys of Team USA for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio, but Kobe shut that thought down at a pregame press conference in Utah over the weekend.
Kobe, who’d previously spoken of the Rio Games as something that could be an honor out of which to ride out his career, on Saturday said it’s now about the young guys.
“I think it’s their time,” he said. “Since my retirement announcement, I’m able to watch these guys in a different light. I’ve come to terms with the fact that they are the future of this game. These are the guys who deserve the spots in Rio. These are the guys who people need to watch and root for. These are the guys to show fans where this game is going in the future.”
Bryant helped the Americans to gold medals in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Games in London.
It was in China that Bryant had perhaps his best moment for a USA squad that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. In the gold medal game against Pau Gasol and Spain, the Americans led by only two points (91-89) early in the fourth quarter. His younger teammates turned to Kobe, who’d just lost in the NBA Finals weeks earlier, and Kobe delivered in championship style.
He took the game over, scoring 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, plus two of his team-high five assists, to lead Team USA to a 118-107 victory and the gold medal. Among his 13 points were two 3-pointers, one plus the foul, and he even blocked two shots in his 27 minutes. Bryant, of course, would carry that momentum over to the Lakers, winning the next two NBA Finals, being named Finals MVP for each.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to win two gold medals, so I’ve had my moment,” Bryant said. “I think it’s important for them to go ahead and play. I’ll watch from afar, support from afar. If they want me to come down and speak to the guys, I will, but that’s about it. I think as beautiful as it would be to play for our country, when I say my last game is going to be my last game, I’m going to retire, then that’s it. It’s not like I’m going to walk off the stage and then (say), ‘But I’m going to come right back for a minute. Hold on one second.’ You know what I mean?'”
Bryant holds the record for the most NBA seasons with one franchise in this his 20th year. He’s been in the NBA nearly as long as 19-year-old rookie D’Angelo Russell’s been on the Earth – and that’s how he wants to go out.
In Purple and Gold.
“I think it’s pretty sweet to have the final game be in a Laker uniform,” he concluded.
Sweet, and fitting.
