During Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour, he stated that he would not play in this summer's Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Still, rumors have persisted that Bryant could change his mind and attempt to go out on top as a world champion after a disappointing final campaign with his Los Angeles Lakers.
With both Stephen Curry and LaMarcus Aldridge opting out of the Olympic games due to nagging injuries that they want to fix up before the next NBA season, those rumors about Bryant began heating up.
It didn't take long for his people to shut them down.
Source close to Kobe Bryant shot down the idea of a last Olympics hurrah in Rio for KB. So much for that. The 60 exit will stand.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 7, 2016
Here are his comments back in January, quieting the notion that his final games would come with Team USA rather than the Lakers:
”Since my retirement announcement, I'm able to watch these guys in a different light,” said Bryant, a gold medalist in 2008 and 2012. ”I've come to terms with the fact that they are the future of this game. These are the guys who deserve the spots in Rio. These are the guys who people need to watch and root for. These are the guys to show fans where this game is going in the future.”
…
”I've had my moment,.”
Despite the Lakers' woes in 2015-16, Bryant ended his career with a dazzling 60-point performance against the Utah Jazz on the final night of the season. The magnitude of the moment had many basketball fans around the world watching his last game rather than the Warriors‘ record-breaking 73rd victory.
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