Kobe Bryant To Retire After Next Season, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak Says

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said that next season will be Kobe Bryant’s last in the NBA.

In the interview on Friday, Kupchak told Sirius XM NBA Radio:

“He has indicated to me that this is it. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don’t think there will be.”

This is quite the declaration from someone other than Kobe. Kupchak also used the opportunity to of course sell tickets:

“All indications are, to me, from him, that this (two-year contract) is going to be it. If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that. Don’t wait. Do it this year.”

Next year will be Kobe’s 20th season and it is also the last year of his two-year, $48.5 million contract extension that he signed in 2013.

“I think first and foremost, he’s on the last year of a deal,” Kupchak said. “There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don’t think there will be. He hasn’t indicated that he wants to continue to play.”

The future Hall of Famer will be 37-years-old when next season begins. Injuries have ended his season early for the past two years. Kobe appeared in just six games in the 2013-2014 season, and a torn rotator cuff limited the superstar to only 35 games last year.

Kupchak did however give himself an out in his prognostication by saying, “A year from now, if there’s something different to discuss, then it will be discussed then.”

As far as Kobe’s rehab, Kupchak said, “I talk to him from time to time … and he is recovering. He’s running. He’s getting movement and strength in the shoulder. We expect a full recovery, but yeah, he’s much closer to the end than to the beginning.”

Bryant, who will be the highest paid player in the NBA next year at $25 million, will have a much better team next year with the #2 pick in this year’s draft. Plus they’ll have promising Julius Randle back from his injury. And they’ll have a ton of cap space to add a difference-making player or two. So who knows, if the Lakers are great again, maybe Kobe eyes up his highly-coveted sixth NBA Championship and plays for another year or two.