Lakers star Kobe Bryant feels 2015-16 NBA season will be his last

Kobe Bryant feels that he will hang up his Nikes after the 2015-16 season, when his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expires.

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The 2015-16 NBA season could mark the final slithering of the Black Mamba, as Lakers guard Kobe Bryant feels that will be the time to call it a career.

Bryant’s retirement talk sounds strange, especially for a player who recorded his 21st career triple-double during Tuesday’s win over the Nuggets:

Kobe: "If you asked me if I’m going to play beyond that, right now the answer is no."
— Bill Oram (@billoram) December 31, 2014

Tuesday’s win showed vintage Bryant, who ranks among league leaders with 24.1 points per game. While the Lakers lag toward another season with the draft lottery in sight, Bryant has had no problem firing at will, as he leads the league with 626 field goal attempts, although he is shooting at a career-low .375 from the field, his worst mark since his rookie season in 1996-97.

Bryant will be approaching his 38th birthday at the end of his contract. He recently past Michael Jordan as the NBA’s third-leading scorer all-time, yet Bryant still has a way to go before approaching former teammate Karl Malone for second, let alone walking down Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points.

Next season marks the end of his contract with the Lakers, a fact that has to produce a mixed bag of emotions for fans of the purple and gold. On the one hand, Bryant’s eventual retirement will conclude the career of perhaps one of the 5-7 best players in NBA history, one that has seen him win five Western Conference championships and four NBA titles. On the other hand, that huge albatross that is Bryant’s contract goes off the books, which will probably launch the Lakers’ search for a new franchise player.

Sit down, Nick Young. The Swaggy P Era ain’t happening.

However, there is a small forward currently residing in Oklahoma City that could become a free agent after the 2015-16 season. If that’s the case, then expect the Lakers to go H-A-R-D after Kevin Durant. It would be nearly impossible to suspect the Lakers will go long without having an elite player to draw the high-end celebrities who reside in the courtside seats of Staples Center.

Bryant has been known to change his mind, so don’t be surprised if he announces that there’s about another 3-4 more years left in him at some point later in the season. Since it is New Year’s Eve, let’s just say that the Kobe Bryant of 2014 knows where his finish line is.

As for the Kobe Bryant of 2015….eh, who knows?

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