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Nothing but accolades have been issued from the NBA’s Commissioner, Adam Silver regarding Kobe Bryant’s pending retirement. Sunday evening (November 29), via Twitter, number 24 broke the news to his 7.93M followers. The Lakers’ aging phenom has invested 20 years into basketball and has been christened by Silver as, “one of the greatest players in the history of our game.”
In the penned poem “Dear Basketball,” which is published in its entirety on The Players’ Tribune, Kobe explained the motivation behind his retirement. Although “love” combined with “sweat and hurt” have helped to sustain his dream, the celebrated shooting savant then expressed, “My heart can take the pounding / My mind can handle the grind / But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
Throughout his acclaimed career, among his many accomplishments, Bryant has earned top distinction having as a two-time Olympian and has collected 5 NBA championships.
Check out the slide for Kobe’s poem and Adam Silver’s statement.