Has Kobe decided next season will be his last?
In a Q&A with Kobe Bryant that came out Friday in The Hollywood Reporter, Bryant mostly discussed his upcoming autobiographical Showtime documentary, "Kobe Bryant's Muse."
However, reporter Marisa Guthrie led into the interview by writing matter-of-factly:
The L.A. Lakers' Kobe Bryant has been contemplating life after basketball since he was 22. Now that he's 36, out due to injury and close to retirement, he says he'll play one more season and finish his two-year contract, which will net him $25 million.
On one hand, this wouldn't be surprising to most of us. On the other hand, Bryant has never provided a definitive timeline, and wasn't directly quoted about retiring in the story.
Lakers coach Byron Scott wasn't buying it Friday night.
"I'll believe it when he tells me," Scott said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
"We're in Los Angeles so we have a whole lot of headlines," Scott added. "That one, like I said, until I hear from the horse's mouth, which is Kobe Bryant, I'm not going to believe it."
The interview also asked Bryant about revisiting the 2003 sexual assault charges he faced before the case was dropped. "Those were dark days for all of us," Bryant responded.
The documentary airs Feb. 28 on Showtime. Some are wondering if it will shed any further light on Bryant's future plans.