Kobe Bryant to retire at end of NBA season

NBA champion Kobe Bryant, widely regarded as one of the greatest
basketball players in history, will retire at the end of the season.
Bryant has scored 32,683 points during a 20-year career with the LA Lakers to rank third on the NBA's all-time list.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist, 37, has been hindered by injuries in
recent seasons and has been below his best this year for the Lakers.
He told the Players' Tribune: "My body knows it's time to say goodbye."
Bryant has averaged more than 25 points per game in his 1,293 NBA matches.
 His final game is set to be at home against Utah on 13 April.
'I can't love you obsessively for much longer'
The Lakers have won just two of their 16 matches so far this season, with
Bryant averaging 15.7 points per game.

In a poem entitled 'Dear Basketball', Bryant announced "this season is all I
have left to give".
The Philadelphia-born player added: "You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker
dream. And I'll always love you for it. But I can't love you obsessively for
much longer."
He ended the poem without hinting at what he might do next.
"We both know, no matter what I do next, I'll always be that kid, with the rolled
up socks, garbage can in the corner, :05 seconds on the clock, ball in my
hands," he wrote.

Bryant was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and selected for
the NBA All-Star team on 17 occasions.
He won Olympic gold with the United States in 2008 and 2012.

Source:BBC Sport