NBA star Kobe Bryant announces retirement
09:15, 30 November 2015
LOS ANGELES. KAZINFORM - Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has announced his retirement after 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The son of former NBA player, the 37-year-old Bryant decided to end his professional career after playing for the Los Angeles-based club since 1996. Considered by many to be the top NBA player of the 2000s, Kobe won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in Beijing and London respectively. He was crowned as the NBA champion in 2000-2002, 2009-2010. To bid farewell to professional basketball, Bryant wrote a poem titled "Dear Basketball" posted by the Players Tribune . "My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it's time to say goodbye," he wrote. Lakers All-Star guard will officially retire at the end of the 2015-16 season. Source: Agencies