Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant announced that the current NBA season will be the final one of his storied career.
"This season is all I have left to give," writes Bryant on The Players Tribune in a letter he opens directly to the sport itself with the words, "Dear Basketball."
Bryant is in his 20th season, all with the Lakers since a draft-day trade in 1996 that sent Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in return for a 17-year old kid taken with the 13th overall pick.
Bryant won five NBA titles. He was still playing at an elite level until April 2013 when he tore an Achilles' tendon. Knee and shoulder injuries have limited Bryant the last two seasons.