Kobe Bryant likely to retire from NBA after 2015-16 season
Friday 22 May 2015 19:02, UK
Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant appears likely to call his NBA career a day at the end of next season.
The 36-year-old guard has played his entire career for the franchise, and general manager Mitch Kupchak indicated that he did not expect any talks over a new contract, with his current deal coming to an end after the 2015-6 season.
He has been nagged by injuries in recent seasons, unable to display the form that made him a 17-time All-Star, two-time NBA scoring champion and two-time Olympic champion.
Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon in April of 2013 to end his season, but signed a two-year contract extension worth $48.5m that kept him as the NBA's top-paid player and set him up to become the first player to compete for the same club for 20 seasons.
He returned this season and became the third-highest all-time NBA scorer last December, passing Michael Jordan's 32,292 points.
Nagged by sore knees, feet, tendons and back, Bryant continued until suffering a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder in January, forcing him to undergo season-ending surgery that was expected to sideline him for nine months.
"He has indicated to me this is it," Kupchak told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "He's on the last year of a deal. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don't think there will be."
The uncertainty over his status leaves in doubt the question of a "farewell tour" by Bryant next season.
"It's kind of up to the player if they want to do something like that," Kupchak added. "And it also may take away some options a year from now and put a player in an awkward position.
"But he will be recognised appropriately with great gratitude when it's time."
