Kobe Bryant delighted in putting himself through as much pain as possible. Whatever it took to make him stronger.He once got water-boarded just to see how it felt. He delighted in giving team employees the “Saw” horror movies, grinning while saying he could survive any of the grisly do-or-die propositions in them.
Ask anyone on the Lakers about Bryant. Pain tolerance ranks high on his most notable skill list.He finally yielded to it Sunday, announcing his retirement after this season — 55,785 NBA minutes after it began as a 17-year-old whose last amateur game came against Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep.
“My body knows it’s time to say goodbye,” Bryant said on The Players’ Tribune website, to which he was an early investor and is an occasional contributor.By all accounts, including Bryant’s, he was very much at peace with his decision. It was mildly surprising but didn’t shock anybody. Bryant, 37, is shooting an abysmal 30.5% this season and a similarly telling 20.2% from three-point range.He seemed to lack the usual smoldering fire he carried on and off the court. Take, for example, a recent article in The Times that detailed his deteriorating play since sustaining a torn Achilles’ tendon toward the end of the 2012-13 season.A negative piece of that scope would have set off Bryant angrily in past years. He would scowl at the reporter, maybe offer some derisive words off to the side.This time, he offered a playful tap on the back for one of the writers when Bryant saw him for the first time after the article.That was Saturday, before Bryant scored a seemingly solid 21 points against Portland, though it came on tired seven-for-20 shooting in a 108-96 Lakers loss. Afterward, he sat at his locker and expounded about the toll of two decades of NBA work on the human body.”It’s tough. 20 years. Legs aren’t what they used to be,” he said. “You just continue to fight through it. . . .”There wasn’t much fight left for Bryant in the final year of a contract paying him $25 million this season. The one thing he continually resisted was the idea of a farewell tour, practically spitting nails at anyone who brought up the concept.With the retirement news now on the table and the Lakers playing Tuesday in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown, you have to wonder if the gift-wrapped rocking chairs and other tokens of appreciation will …Read More
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