Lakers' Bryant to retire at end of season; coach and fans pay tributes

Dec 03, 2015 Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant recently announced that he will retire after the 2015-16 NBA season.

Arguably the best player of his generation, his decision didn’t take most people by surprise as he has has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons and had hinted about his retirement.

Commenting on the decision, Bryant said:

“A decision like this you can’t allow, you can’t make that decision based on, you know outside circumstances, it has to be an internal decision and finally I just had to accept the fact that I don’t want to do this any more, and I’m okay with that, and once I accepted that then it became time to just let everybody know, I mean why not, I mean it just takes a load off my shoulders and everybody else I mean it’s just the right thing to do.”

Lakers Coach, Byron Scott also commented on Bryant’s 20-year old career saying:

“You know, when you look at guys who are all famous, guys who really make their mark in this league, a lot of is by what they do on the court, second part is longevity. He has had an unbelievable career so as far as two guys, he is right there with MJ.”

Fans also took the time to pay their tribute to their super star.

Shawn Davenport said:

“I think, you know, for the game of basketball if he was to retire right now, I think it will be good for him, as far as his body just enjoys life. As far as business, as you can see all the right tickets have his face on there, so he is good for business. So I would say no, let him keep on playing until he gets tired.”

Another fan, Raul Hernandez said:

“He is definitely one of the greatest. He is one of the greatest of all time. So, I would say he is probably the top five,”