Kobe Plans To Play 'Two More Years Max'

In an interview with Damon Jones during All-Star weekend, Kobe Bryant was asked how much longer he will continue playing.

Bryant has one season remaining on his current deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Probably two years max," said Bryant. "Next year might be it. It is one of those things where I'll wake up and know. If it is it for me, then it is it and there's no looking back."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... -Years-Max

I was hoping that he would play until 2015. Cause both Steve's and Pau's contracts end that year.

I can't seem him playing more than another two seasons. He might even hang it up next season if the Lakers future really looks as bad as some of us fear it will be. Man it would suck for him to go out on a bad note, really really suck.

Well.. That's an improvement from him saying he's done after this contract. Now we have the possibility of bringing him back on a 1 year deal.

Yea he's still one of the best in the game right now, he probably doesnt think he can stay on top for long & doesnt want to continue playing as a secondary caliber player

That day I will shed tears, I am not ashamed to say it.

Man it's crazy to think we get to watch this guy play 1 or 2 more seasons and that's it. He's a once in a generation talent, we have been so lucky to have him on our team for 17 seasons. The next guy to root for will always come along, but those who got to root for Magic and Kobe and other Lakers greats always feel the loss when it's finally over. I've been watching the NBA since '93, so almost the whole time I've been a fan Kobe has been here, it's going to be so strange when he's not out there. Hopefully we can win just one more title before he goes, it's so rare to have a player that can finish the job on your roster I hope he gets the chance to get us one more.

If you're in the LA area you might as well go attend the games this year when tix are affordable. Next year its gonna go through the roof since it will be Kobe's last year & who knows maybe if hes even playing at an all star level

Always been a dream to see a Lakers game. Guess I better put my money where my mouth is. I imagine seeing those guys up close is larger than life.

Beautiful thing is that Kobe, like Magic, West, and Baylor were all home grown. Spent their entire careers with the Lakers. Fans watched them grow up and end their playing days donning the Laker colors. I wasn't around for West and Baylor but was lucky enough to catch half of Magic's career and all of Kobe's. Always sad when they leave, always grateful for the memories they gave us, and always hoping we'll be fortunate to get another player like them.

What's amazing is that people can spend years trying to find the next everyone else but Kobe is/was (might as well say) a unique player. His approach, aura and style to basketball really didn't mimic anyone else's, of course people will say Micheal Jordan, but sometimes you see a entirely unique player from game to game. He's the only player to win titles as a secondary player and as the main go to player on the same team all in epic fashions individually and collectively.Too bad haters were too busy wasting time hating to actually absorb what he did for the game of basketball. Once he leaves that's it.

Yeah I really don't understand hating on a great like Kobe. I don't even get fans that complain about him all the time, he's done so much for us, and he continues to, I don't get not appreciating that fully. You can say well we hate on LeBron and others, but we're fans of course we do, the media has no excuse. And even though we hate on LeBron as an opponent we still recognize his greatness, and we should recognize that it doesn't take away from what Kobe's done, it's his own legacy, only the media tries to discredit players by pumping up others, really shouldn't be that way.

20 years of Kobe still isn't enough!

This is his 17th season. If he plays 2 more seasons, then he would have played 19 years. That's a long time for any player, much less a guard.

He's the last of the old school greats. When he retires, there will be no player who can do what he did. Off the charts bb iq, off the charts fundamentals, uncanny talent for scoring. Unsurpassed will to win. The new nba is about athleticism, and speed. And stats. Not a worse nba, but different.

Kobe was able to win in two eras, the first being the early 2000's where there were extremely well-coached teams, with Phil and Pop and Riles. Although most say he was second fiddle, he was every bit as important as Shaq in those championship runs. Anyone who watched those series saw that Kobe was equally important in the first 3 rounds, but Shaq got the cfinals MVPs because he was able to dominate more against a weak Eastern center. If we would have squared off against any team with a decent center in the east, Kobe would have gone off instead, and the MVPs would have been his. No one says that West was along for the ride when He won with Wilt. He was equally important. It's just that Wilt had more competition to slw him down in the finals, so West had to be the hero. When Shaq was in the East, he couldn't beat the great centers of the West.

The second era was one of superteams, with mediocre coaches. The miamis, Oklahomas, and celtics teams are are full of stars, and led by guys that have little coaching ability. It's the talent of the stars that carries these teams, whether or not they have a real gameplan. Kobe and his team were able to beat a superteam from Boston, who failed because fake thuggery can only take you so far. At the end of the day, Kobe and Ron had more heart than Kevin and Paul and Ray.

Kobe will be missed. Not many guys can win in two different eras. Kobe has adjusted from one team to the next, and his legacy as one of the great is certain. His 81 and his scoring titles will augment his 5 championships, and he'll be remembered as the greatest scorer ever.

revgen wrote:This is his 17th season. If he plays 2 more seasons, then he would have played 19 years. That's a long time for any player, much less a guard.

Seriously, Kareem played 20 seasons and my dad told me he wasn't near the same player the last few seasons. (Of course to be fair Kareem played a full college career first and retired at 42, just saying 20 seasons is a crazy rare long career, especially to be playing at the level Kobe has in your 17th)

Man time flies by so fast.

The way I interpret that from his previous statements: "This season looks like it might have been a huge bust, so I'm going to try to go for two more to make up for it instead of one."

Weezy wrote:Yeah I really don't understand hating on a great like Kobe. I don't even get fans that complain about him all the time, he's done so much for us, and he continues to, I don't get not appreciating that fully. You can say well we hate on LeBron and others, but we're fans of course we do, the media has no excuse. And even though we hate on LeBron as an opponent we still recognize his greatness, and we should recognize that it doesn't take away from what Kobe's done, it's his own legacy, only the media tries to discredit players by pumping up others, really shouldn't be that way.

Ignorance. It's everywhere.
Just be glad you were lucky enough to get to watch him and other greats play, and for your favorite team!

therealdeal wrote:The way I interpret that from his previous statements: "This season looks like it might have been a huge bust, so I'm going to try to go for two more to make up for it instead of one."

If he does plan on playing another season after next he better plan on signing cheap so we can compete, as in sign a big name free agent in 2014, he's going to be making 30 mil next season, he better not seriously expect to come close to that season after next.

Rest after next season. Return with bionic limbs.

Weezy wrote:

therealdeal wrote:The way I interpret that from his previous statements: "This season looks like it might have been a huge bust, so I'm going to try to go for two more to make up for it instead of one."

If he does plan on playing another season after next he better plan on signing cheap so we can compete, as in sign a big name free agent in 2014, he's going to be making 30 mil next season, he better not seriously expect to come close to that season after next.

Well that's a given. If/when he returns, he'll be back for 10 million or something. We sign Dwight long term along with Nash (30 million) and that'll give us about 20 million to spend on a FA. Then we use Kobe's bird rights to bring him back.

V.V.V.V.V. wrote:He's the last of the old school greats. When he retires, there will be no player who can do what he did. Off the charts bb iq, off the charts fundamentals, uncanny talent for scoring. Unsurpassed will to win. The new nba is about athleticism, and speed. And stats. Not a worse nba, but different.

Kobe was able to win in two eras, the first being the early 2000's where there were extremely well-coached teams, with Phil and Pop and Riles. Although most say he was second fiddle, he was every bit as important as Shaq in those championship runs. Anyone who watched those series saw that Kobe was equally important in the first 3 rounds, but Shaq got the cfinals MVPs because he was able to dominate more against a weak Eastern center. If we would have squared off against any team with a decent center in the east, Kobe would have gone off instead, and the MVPs would have been his. No one says that West was along for the ride when He won with Wilt. He was equally important. It's just that Wilt had more competition to slw him down in the finals, so West had to be the hero. When Shaq was in the East, he couldn't beat the great centers of the West.

The second era was one of superteams, with mediocre coaches. The miamis, Oklahomas, and celtics teams are are full of stars, and led by guys that have little coaching ability. It's the talent of the stars that carries these teams, whether or not they have a real gameplan. Kobe and his team were able to beat a superteam from Boston, who failed because fake thuggery can only take you so far. At the end of the day, Kobe and Ron had more heart than Kevin and Paul and Ray.

Kobe will be missed. Not many guys can win in two different eras. Kobe has adjusted from one team to the next, and his legacy as one of the great is certain. His 81 and his scoring titles will augment his 5 championships, and he'll be remembered as the greatest scorer ever.

It's crazy since, well if you watch most of his games the bulk of his shots come from the perimeter not on fast breaks and dunks alone even though he's had a lot of poster dunks throughout his career. But for the younger generation coming up I suggest they go on youtube and try to find videos of Kobe's scoring runs, if they can find them because I don't think too many people uploaded videos of Kobe's career highlights like they've done others, but they need to see how he played against zone defense with defenders right in his grill.

Weezy wrote:

therealdeal wrote:The way I interpret that from his previous statements: "This season looks like it might have been a huge bust, so I'm going to try to go for two more to make up for it instead of one."

If he does plan on playing another season after next he better plan on signing cheap so we can compete, as in sign a big name free agent in 2014, he's going to be making 30 mil next season, he better not seriously expect to come close to that season after next.

The Summer 2014 free agency is overrated ... Granger , Gay ( player option) ... Lebron will stay with the Heat or back to Cavs ... Melo (player option) .