Kobe Bryant said a while back that his 20th season would be his last in the NBA.
Now he’s saying that he has to feel it out, and he’ll know when it’s time. Charles Barkley, as opinionated as he is, didn’t take kindly to that. Apparently, he really wants the Black Mamba to retire after this season. Transcribed by FoxSports.com:
“I hope he retires, because I don’t want to see — I probably played two years too long. I hate to see Patrick Ewing, great as he was, struggle — I don’t like seeing great players just out there, you know?” Barkley said. “Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards, that didn’t do anything for me. Kobe’s obviously not going to walk away from $30 million. This should be like a farewell tour, play 20, 25 minutes a night. The Lakers aren’t going to make the playoffs. Could he play some more? Yeah, of course. His best days are behind him. I hear these fools on TV, talking about, ‘Kobe’s going to get healthy.’ Old people don’t get healthy; they die. Old people don’t get healthy. Father Time is undefeated. … You can get in great shape in the summer, because you’re playing against air. Air doesn’t hit back.”
Bryant never really cared what critics thought about him. In response to Barkley’s criticism, Bryant tweeted this attempted prank from the Bucks a couple months ago. Key word, attempted…
The Bucks tried to scare Kobe , but Kobe has no human emotions so it didn’t work. pic.twitter.com/fztA6wnauw
— RT GIFS (@RTGIFS) December 10, 2014
Yup, Bryant is an emotionless cyborg with one mission: championships.
