Lakers guard Kobe Bryant announces he will retire after this season

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant announced he will retire after this season.

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryantannounced he will retire after this season in an essay on The Players’ Tribune.

“This season is all I have left to give.” Bryant wrote in the essay. “My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”

Bryant is currently in his 20th season with the Lakers. The five-time NBA champion is struggling in his final year, averaging under 16 points per game on 31.1% shooting. The Lakers are 2–13 and in last place in the Western Conference. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement Sunday night regarding Bryant’s retirement.

• GOLLIVER: Kobe’s retirement benefits the NBA icon and young Lakers

“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.”

Bryant was taken in the first round of the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets and immediately dealt to the Lakers. He won three championships with Shaquille O'Neal from 2000–02, and then led Los Angeles to back-to-back titles in ’09–10. 

• GOLLIVER: Kobe on Kobe: Lakers legend relives 20–year NBA journey

You can read his full statement below:

Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all—
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

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.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have. 

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe

• Podcast: A look at Kobe’s season | BALLARD: SI Longform on Kobe

For his career, Bryant has averaged 25.3 points, 4.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He will do an exclusive sit-down interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, the show announced. His statement also resembles Michael Jordan’s open letter to basketball announcing his retirement 12 years ago.

Lakers coach and former teammate Byron Scott spoke to the media before their home game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Fans attending Sunday’s game received a copy of Bryant’s letter.

Classic photos of Kobe Bryant

Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant

Courtesy of the Bryant Family

Kobe, age 11, plays in a fundraiser while living in Italy.

Rusty Kennedy/AP

Kobe dunks the ball at his Lower Merion, Pa. high school gym during a practice on Jan. 19, 1996.

Mirek Towski/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

We all knew Bryant was a superstar when he took singer/actress Brandy to his high school prom in 1996. Stud.

AP

A member of the East team, Bryant shoots over the West team's Jamaal Magloire during Magic's Roundball Classic at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., in April 1996.

AP

Before he became the Lakers' all-time leading scorer, Kobe Bryant was a star on the Lower Merion (Pa.) High School basketball team. And he was all smiles in this April 1996 photo. After winning the state 4A championship, Bryant and his teammates were honored at the state capitol in Harrisburg.

Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images

Here's Kobe, striking a pose during his rookie photo shoot. Charming.

Jon SooHoo/NBAE via Getty Images

The rookie poses outside his new home in 1997, the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

George Lange for Sports Illustrated

Kobe's got a secret during this photo shoot in 1997.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Kobe and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson chat it up during a game in 1997.

Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images

My how things have changed since this 1997 photo. Kobe remains a top NBA player while Stephon Marbury is playing in China.

AP

Shaquille carries Bryant during a team media day photo shoot in 1997. Aww, they look so happy!

Jan Sonnenmair for Sports Illustrated

Kobe poses with Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson in the make-up room before taping of the show "All That" in 1998.

Jan Sonnenmair for Sports Illustrated

Kobe looks concerned as Amanda Bynes acts a little crazy during taping of the show "All That" in 1998.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe shows off his guns during this 1998 photo shoot.

Manny Millan for Sports Illustrated

Kobe tries to get around Michael Jordan during the 1998 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe poses with Magic Johnson during this photo shoot in 1998.

Kobe appears in deep thought during this photo shoot in 2000.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe sits in what is likely one of many nice cars he owns in 2000.

David E. Klutho for Sports Illustrated

Kobe and Shaq pose with their respective make-out trophies after winning the 2000 NBA Finals.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Shaq and Kobe (a.k.a. Superman and The Black Mamba) pose together in 2001.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Shaq and Kobe laugh as the Big Cactus appears to have ticklish feet in the training room before a game in 2002.

Jesse D Garrabrant NBAE/ Getty Images

Bryant, of the West All-Star team, talks with Michael Jordan and Antoine Walker from the East team before practice during All-Star weekend in 2002.

Andrew D. Bernstein/ NBAE/ Getty Images

Donning a Michael Jordan jersey, Bryant arrives for Game 4 of the 2002 Finals. The 22-year-old took home his third NBA title that year.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Kobe shares a laugh with Michael Jordan during the 2003 All-Star Game.

AP

Bryant returned to Lower Merion High in 2007 to enjoy a few laughs.

Ric Francis/AP

Kobe peeks out form the training room as teammates Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher wrap up a scrimmage during basketball practice in Oct. 2007.

AP

Bryant tries out the refurbished Stallings playground in New Orleans in 2008.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Family portrait! Kobe poses with wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia and Gianna at the 2007-08 MVP press conference.

Michael O'Neill for Sports Illustrated

Kobe and Olympic teammate LeBron James pose before the 2008 Games in Beijing. The "Redeem Team" struck gold, ending an eight-year U.S. drought in basketball.

Scott Brinegar/Disney via Getty Images

Kobe acts like a kid again, riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland in June 2009.

John W. McDonough for Sports Illustrated

Like father, like son (only the son went on to become a better basketball player). Bryant poses with his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, a former Philadelphia 76er and former coach of the WNBA's L.A. Sparks, at a Dodgers game in June 2009.

Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

After winning his fourth title, Kobe and the Mrs. return home with his 2009 NBA Finals MVP trophy.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

It's as if Kobe knows he is just a few months away from winning another NBA Championship and Finals MVP during this photo shoot in March 2010.

David Livingston/Getty Images

Bryant is honored at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Feb. 2011.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Venus Williams and Kobe speak during the 2011 Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" Award Show in Santa Monica.

Kris Connor/Getty Images

Eddie Pope and Bryant fight for the ball during the 2011 Celebrity Soccer Challenge at Kastles Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Bryant has his ankle wrapped in the locker room before a playoff game against Denver in 2012.

Brian To/WireImage

Kobe rocks red pants and Air Jordans while speaking at a 2012 press conference for the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe must be thinking of Timberlake's lyrics: "It's like you're my mirror. My mirror staring back at me," during this photo shoot in 2013.

Robert Beck for Sports Illustrated

Kobe relaxes on a couch during this photo shoot in 2014.

Andrew D. Bernstein for Sports Illustrated

Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell puts his arm around Kobe, who debuted with the team the same year Russell was born (1996), during this photo shoot in 2015.

- Rohan Nadkarni