Kobe on playing beyond his contract: “Maybe. Maybe not”
At some level it’s terrifying for Kobe Bryant to talk about the end. At 36 and now playing in his 19th season in the NBA, Kobe is the most superior seasoned superstar there’s ever been. Bryant currently leads the league in scoring at 26 points per game.
But Kobe’s Lakers are in the midst of their worst season in franchise history at 5-14 on the season. Following the Lakers 111-95 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Kobe once again responded to the retirement subject as his two-year, $48.5 million contract expires at the end of the 2015-2016 season.
Via Mark Medina:
Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t want to be coy about it. I don’t know what to tell you. Right now I’d say no. But it doesn’t matter. Would that change a year from now or something like that?
If I want to play, I’ll play. I tend to make my own decisions. If I don’t want to play, I won’t play. It’s just a feeling on if I want to go through the process of being ready every single day and the amount of commitment that it takes. Its nuts. If I want to continue to do that, I will. If I don’t, I don’t.
Kobe Bryant is on his way to passing Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list. We know that matters to him. Being the first player in history to record 30,000 points and 6,000 assists matters to him. These are personal/individual accolades. Winning championships really matters to Kobe too, but nothing short of consecutive miracle moves by the front office will deliver a sixth championship for Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles.
Kobe has already been able to play more games than he did last season when he suffered the achilles and knee injuries. It’s very difficult to fathom how he can go on like this — in the final days of his career, still able to produce, on a team that won’t even be close in the playoff picture.
