We all knew the day would come but do we really want it to? Before the 2015-2016 NBA season began, Kobe Bryant made the announcement that it would be his last season. He announced this retirement in style with a heartfelt poem on the Players Tribune.
In his poem, Kobe spoke from his heart and expressed his love for the game and the sad realization that although his heart is still in the game, his body cannot take anymore.
Reading Kobe’s retirement letter was very emotional for me the very first time I read it and I am still emotional to this day. I get chills when I re-read it. It’s symbolic of a person losing the very thing they love and feel that they are on this earth for. Kobe’s love for basketball goes beyond words and the fact that he is no longer going to be able to give his body to the game is a sad thought.
When I first read Kobe’s letter, my immediate thoughts were that I could not believe it was reality. I wanted to believe that it was some sort of joke or that it was made by a fan. When I read it I did not want to believe it was actually coming from Kobe.
But as I read on, what I wanted to believe slowly disappeared and reality set in. The same heart and emotion Kobe played with day in and day out was beginning to show in the letter and I could not deny it any further. Kobe is retiring.
What is NBA basketball without Kobe? Kobe has been in the NBA for the entire 20 years of my existence so to think that after this year he will no longer be an active player left me at a loss for words.
I was consumed with sadness, and my stomach was in knots. I did not want to believe the truth. The truth that this was the end of NBA basketball as I knew it. This was the end of NBA basketball that I grew to love and adore.
I got goosebumps at the completion of his retirement letter and a little teary eyed. But can you blame me? Kobe was an icon – the icon.
Some may argue why this is such a sad occurrence and that players are always going to retire. “So what’s the big deal?” they might say.
My response to that is that Kobe represents something different for the game of basketball. Kobe’s retirement represents the end of an era for NBA basketball. This chapter of the NBA is coming to a close, and we are witnessing the start of a new one. A new chapter without Kobe Bryant.
Kobe Bryant’s talent, heart and dedication will be missed by true fans of the game. But as he said in his letter it is time for him to go. After 20 years of giving his body to the game, he can give no more.
The high caliber of play that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Kobe has been long gone. For some it’s painful to watch him play his final season as a Laker in such a losing effort. Kobe is notorious for his championship mentality and to see the Lakers currently with 60+ losses is heartbreaking. But it is also a sign that this is in fact the end for Kobe. Time has caught up to him and there is not much that he can do to stop that.
Five NBA championships, two finals MVP’s and 18 All-Star games later, Kobe has given the game all he can give and for that, I am thankful.
This season is all he has left to give. Kobe wrote, “My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
The end has come.