Kobe Bryant Launching Los Angeles Lakers Farewell Tour in Historical Fashion

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t winning many games these days, but reigning superstar Kobe Bryant seems intent on going out in style—defying Father Time, breaking records and leaving it all on the floor every night.

The highest-paid baller in the NBA has two years left on his current contract—otherwise known as his farewell tour.

Will he in fact retire at the end of his 20th season? At his current barn-burning rate of 25.2 points in 35.4 hard minutes per game through 21 games played, it’s hard to imagine he’ll have anything left in the tank when his contract runs out. 


Never say never with the Mamba, however. As Mark Medina for the Los Angeles Daily News recently reported, Lakers coach Byron Scott is hoping to persuade the winner of five NBA titles to keep it rolling: “If we put something together that excites him, we’ll have a real good chance of him saying he’ll play another year and give it another shot. That’s what we plan to do.”



Bryant’s response a day later, also per Medina, was noncommittal:

If I want to play, I’ll play. I tend to make my own decisions. If I don’t want to play, I won’t play. It’s just a feeling on if I want to go through the process of being ready every single day and the amount of commitment that it takes. It's nuts.

For now, fans will simply have to watch and marvel as the 36-year-old puts a younger generation of players to shame.

So far this season, Bryant has already become the only player in history to surpass 30,000 career points and 6,000 assists. In addition, his scoring average is off the charts for an athlete with so much wear on the tires. Per ESPN Stats & Info, no other player has averaged more than 14.6 points per game in his 19th season or later.

Milestones seem to accrue with each passing game but soon, one of the...

About the Author