Kobe Bryant announces retirement at end of season, making Tuesday night his last game in Philly

Derek Jeter’s website, The Players Tribune, clearly wasn’t ready for the type of traffic that a Black Mamba retirement announcement brings. When many fans initially clicked this link, they got the ol’ 503 service unavailable.

Yes, Kobe Bryant is retiring at the end of the season, and yes, he announced his retirement via a poem. Now in his 20th season, the Lakers are pretty much as bad as the Sixers, in no small part because Bryant is playing 30 minutes per game and shooting 31.5 percent from the floor. Love him or hate him, what an amazing career.

That means Tuesday night’s game against the winless Sixers is now officially Bryant’s last game in Philadelphia. I imagine quite a few people from Lower Merion will make the trip down to the arena.


Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann