LOS ANGELES – The end.
It is the thing he has pushed away as it were an annoying defender; a subject that until very recently induced one of his dramatic eye rolls.
Injuries, however, ended each of his past three seasons and his 20th year was being dominated by serious concerns over his shot selection and minutes.
By Sunday, there was no more hiding a truth that had been confirmed night after night by a steady stream of off-the-mark 3-pointers and mounting frustration.
Kobe Bryant will retire following this season.
The announcement came in the form of a letter, a poem, posted to The Players’ Tribune hours before the Lakers (2-14) suffered a 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center.
“This season is all I have left to give,” Bryant wrote. “My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
The celebration of Bryant’s career that emerged on social media and at Staples Center was in sharp contrast to the realities that faced Bryant against the Pacers. The Lakers fell into a 22-point hole early and Bryant missed his first six shots.
He was 3-for-18 from the field before he triumphantly buried a top-of-the key 3-pointer with 10 seconds left that cut the Pacers lead to 104-103.
After a pair of Paul George free throws, Bryant lined up another 3-pointer, but, in a fitting metaphor for this season, fired an airball.
Bryant finished with 13 points on 4-of-20 shooting, a night mostly of frustration, but adorned with a few memorable morsels.
We now know with certainty that this season will be Bryant’s last. It was fitting that the first game of the official farewell tour began at home, in front of the fans who watched Bryant’s evolution from an eager 18-year-old into a five-time champion.
Next on the tour: Tuesday in Bryant’s hometown of Philadelphia.
“I think it’s definitely something that’s been coming,” Coach Byron Scott said. “Even before the announcement, fans were trying to show their appreciation.”
The announcement was not a surprise so much as the timing of it. Bryant has struggled tremendously this season. Entering the night Bryant had made 31.5 percent of his shots and just 19.5 percent of his 3s.
As obvious as Bryant’s impending exit might have seemed, Scott said he was “shocked” when Bryant confided in him on Saturday night.
“I thought he probably had at least another year in him,” Scott said.
That would put Scott among the most optimistic observers.
Scott has maintained a belief Bryant will find his way out of the slump.
“This season isn’t over,” Scott said. “We still have a lot of games left. I know his purpose is to finish out the season.”
Bryant told his coach and former teammate that he was the first person he had told. Even Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said he was not aware of the pending announcement until Sunday afternoon.
Kupchak said the front office had prepared for the future under the belief Bryant would not return beyond this season.
“This puts an end to any speculation that he may come back for another year,” Kupchak said, “but it was my understanding all along.”
Bryant will be deservedly and endlessly celebrated over the five months that, barring injury, remain of his playing career.
But the stories flowed in earnest on Sunday, like good wine that was uncorked to honor the occasion.
“I could go all the way back to when he was just this young guy just shooting in the dark in the Forum before the lights came on,” said Scott, who mentored Bryant as a rookie in 1996-97.
Kupchak said his son, Maxwell, a college freshman, was born the night of Bryant’s NBA debut.
“So that kind of puts it in perspective,” Kupchak said.
The executive who helped build the five championship teams that featured Bryant went on to say, “He’s a winner and he came into this league with an unprecedented desire to compete and get better and be the best.
“And he remains that exact same person today. That’s with the goods and the bads that come with it.”
Fans arriving at Staples Center on Sunday were given a letter penned by Bryant, stuffed in a thick black envelope embossed with a gold “KB20.”
Bryant’s letter to fans read, in part, “Whether you view me as a hero or a villain, please know I poured every emotion, every bit of passion and my entire self into being a Laker.”
The sellout crowd waited to erupt as Bryant struggled early. His first shot was a 30-foot 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. He missed another 3, then a floater moving side-to-side in the lane.
After six misses he finally made a shot, a layup that came on a step-though move that left Pacers’ forward C.J. Miles waving his arms at a space Bryant had just been.
While Kupchak was initially surprised by the timing of Bryant’s announcement, he said it made sense given the Lakers’ collective struggles.
“We didn’t make it any easier for him,” he said, “with the group we have on the court.”
Bryant has been caught between the Lakers’ efforts to feature him and a youth movement, a dynamic Kupchak acknowledged has been “awkward.”
“There really was no other way to go about it,” Kupchak said, “and when you have a player of Kobe’s caliber that wants to continue to play, and you think he can play at a high level, you’re going to let him play until he no longer wants to play.”
That day has not yet come, but it can be now be identified on a calendar. If Bryant stays healthy, his last game will be April 13, against the Utah Jazz.
Like an amusement-park attraction that draws a crowd not for its technological advances nor razzle-dazzle, Bryant’s final few years have offered a chance to revisit a previous era, to better appreciate something once taken for granted.
Great Moments With Mr. Bryant will soon close its doors.
Here’s an excerpt from his letter on The Players’ Tribune:
I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.
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.
NBA commisioner Adam Silver issued the following statement:
“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. 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.”
Clipper guard Jamal Crawford said it was mentality, work eithic and talent that set Bryant apart.
“To me, he’s the best player I’ve ever played against,” Crawford told the Register. “He’s the Michael Jordan of his era. I don’t think we’ll see another.”
6′ 6″ from Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant! https://t.co/6mFBkhFm31
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 30, 2015
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We have lived incredible moments together on and off the court. Thanks for everything brother! @kobebryant #ThankYouKobe
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) November 30, 2015
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Kupchak on Kobe: “Every player in our locker room looks up to this guy. And who could not after 19 seasons of what he’s accomplished?”
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 30, 2015
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One of the TRUE KINGS of the game. You are one the greatest to ever do it, my friend. #Kobe #BlackMamba #VinoClub https://t.co/Gn7DAB2src
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) November 30, 2015
