Kobe Bryant believes the 2013-2014 season will be his last

Kobe Bryant has been saying that the final season in his current Lakers contract could possibly be his last in the NBA. He said it in an interview early this season and he’s said it again recently in an interview with NBA.com. “Vino” recently suffered a bone spur in his left foot following a game against the Milwaukee Bucks last week. The toll that an NBA season puts on his body is part of the reason Bryant believes that he’ll be ready to hang his sneakers up following season number 18.

“I’ll talk to my family and stuff and really see if I want to continue to sacrifice as much as I’m sacrificing right now,” Bryant said. “I’m putting my body through a lot to just get ready to play every single night. To do what I’m doing right now. It’s not easy. I’ll tell you, it’s taken a lot of commitment,” Bryant went on to say.

When asked if he thought that next season would be his last, Bryant replied, “yeah.”

Bryant also indicated that he’ll make that decision this summer in order for the Lakers to be able to plan for their free agent future. In addition to Dwight being a free agent this summer, there’s this guy in South Florida who could possible be available in the summer of 2014. The capspace the Lakers will have if Kobe retires certainly means the team might be interested in throwing their hat into the ring.

The reality is, I can’t imagine Kobe in another jersey. And I don’t think most want to see Kobe as “Washington Wizard Jordan.” I hope when he makes his decision, he’s ready with his transition plan as well. The itch to come back after sitting out a year or so will be there.

The Black Mamba moved up another notch in the all time NBA scoring list to the number four position, passing Wilt Chamberlin.