Kobe Bryant is 36 years old, has five championship rings, and is 21 games into his 19th NBA season. He has spent his entire career in Los Angeles with the Lakers, and has repeatedly insisted that will never change. Bryant is fiercely loyal to his organization, defending ownership and management even as criticism has increased the last several years from the outside after what some view as poor contracts, bad draft picks, and irresponsible personnel transactions.
So how much longer will Kobe stick around? After tearing his Achilles tendon near the end of the 2012-2013 season, and missing all but six games last season due to a knee injury, Kobe has returned to the floor rather strongly in 2014. That may come as a surprise to some, but certainly not to himself. His averages of 25.5 points, 4.9 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game so far this season are nearly identical to his career averages. His 25.5 points per game is actually leading the NBA, with James Harden and Anthony Davis, both more than a decade younger, not far behind. Although Bryant is scoring at his usual pace, his shooting percentage hasn’t fared as well. His current .389% sits well below his career mark of .452%.
That may be all well and good, but those performances have seldom translated into Lakers wins this season. While many pointed at the absence of Bryant last season as the main reason the Lakers lost a franchise-worst 55 games, the triumphant return of their marquee player has netted them a record of 6-16, good for 14th in the Western Conference. Not exactly up to par for a guy who has played 220 career playoff games for a proud franchise that has won 16 championships. Will the team’s current losing ways cause him to lose interest and start looking for some hobbies to occupy his time when he shuts his locker for a final time?
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Bryant indicated that even after 18 seasons, he isn’t tired of his profession just yet.
“It’s a lifestyle, an absolute around-the-clock lifestyle,” Bryant said. “There’s no getting away from it. I’ve always enjoyed that aspect of it, the process of it, the building of it. But there will come a point when I don’t anymore, and then it will be over for me.”
When will that point come? According to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, that time will arrive when his current contract expires in 2016.
“All indications are, to me, from him, that this [current contract] is going to be it,” Kupchak said. “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.”
That seems closer to what Kobe indicated in some remarks just last week after a loss to the Wizards when asked if he is considering playing beyond 2016.
“Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t want to be coy about it,” said Bryant. “I don’t know what to tell you. Right now I’d say no. But it doesn’t matter.”
Keep in mind that Kobe said a few years ago that the 2013-2014 season could be his last. His plans obviously were affected after the Achilles injury soon after. Bryant later admitted that he wanted to extend his time in the NBA and prove he could come back and still play at the elite level he’s displayed throughout his career.
So what are the key factors for Bryant in determining such a decision? The main component is obviously his playing ability staying at a high level. Anything less for Kobe is unacceptable to himself. Sure, he’s posting his usual numbers right now, but can he sustain them for a grueling 82 game season? Bryant hasn’t come anywhere close to playing a full season since the 2012-2013 campaign. Former Laker executive and Hall of Fame point guard Jerry West, who traded to get Bryant in the 1997 draft, offered his take.
“As the season goes along, I think he’ll look at the game differently: How can I be more efficient without killing myself physically? He’ll pick his spots, I think.”
Many players and coaches have taken note of his deteriorating explosiveness and ability to drive to the basket, instead settling for more jumpers than he’s accustomed to. His current field goal percentage proves that, and doesn’t bode well for his newer perimeter-oriented attack. Still, at the moment, he’s the undisputed leader of his team, and his stat lines remain as impressive as they’ve always been throughout his career.
The other major factor in determining Kobe’s future is the Lakers themselves. Kobe likes to win, it’s all he’s known. This current incarnation of his franchise seems rather incapable of doing just that, however. Many are quick to blame that on Kobe himself, citing his two year, $48.5 million dollar contract as a big reason the Lakers can’t seem to land any big names: there’s simply not enough money left to go around. The Lakers’ situation is a sharp contrast to the recent days of Miami’s Big Three, where LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, and Chris Bosh all took pay cuts to be able to play together. The cuts paid off.
But even with the money issues, the fault for the Lakers’ current mediocrity cannot be laid squarely on Kobe’s shoulders.
Injuries have this season have depleted an already thin Lakers lineup. Veteran backup point guard Steve Nash, promising rookie forward Julius Randle, and much improved backup shooting guard Xavier Henry are all out for the season. Backup point guard Jeremy Lin has been battling injuries as well. This is a team that was already rebuilding and subsequently failed to make waves via the free agent market in the offseason. That’s not good news for a team in a tough Western Conference that saw a 48-34 Phoenix Suns team miss the playoffs last season.
Despite the personnel issues and Kobe’s hints of hanging it up after next year, Lakers coach Byron Scott remains optimistic that he can convince Bryant to stick around a little longer if the team’s situation improves.
“We’ll talk about that,” assured Scott. “You guys have watched him play. He has a lot left in that tank. If we put something together that excites him, we’ll have a real good chance of him saying he’ll play another year and give it another shot. That’s what we plan to do.”
How long does Kobe Bryant have left? It’s very likely that nobody really has the answer, not even the Black Mamba himself.
