Kobe Bryant has announced he will retire at the end of the current NBA season, ending his career after 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant, 37, made the announcement in a post on The Players' Tribune on Sunday, writing a poem titled "Dear Basketball."
"My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it's time to say goodbye," wrote Bryant, the third-leading scorer in NBA history.
"And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go. I want you to know now. So we both can savour every moment we have left together. The good and the bad. We have given each other all that we have."
Bryant went straight from high school in suburban Philadelphia to the Lakers in 1996, and he earned five championship rings and 17 All-Star selections during two decades with the franchise, the longest tenure with one team in NBA history.
But Bryant's last three seasons have ended early due to injuries, and he played in only 41 games over the previous two years.
He has struggled mightily in the early part of the 2015-16 season, playing with mostly young team-mates on a rebuilding roster, making a career-worst 32 per cent of his shots and dealing with pain and exhaustion every day.
He paid tribute to Lakers fans ahead of Sunday's clash with the Indiana Pacers, with each of them receiving a letter from Bryant in a gold envelope embossed with gold as they arrived at the Staples Center.
"What you've done for me is far greater than anything I've done for you," Bryant wrote.
"I knew that each minute of each game I wore purple and gold. I honor it as I play today and for the rest of this season. My love for this city, this team and for each of you will never fade. Thank you for this incredible journey."
But the night of his announcement ended in disappointment as the Lakers dropped to 2-14 on the season with a 107-103 defeat, Bryant scoring 13 points but only hitting four of his 20 field goals.
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