Kobe Bryant could be considering retirement after the coming season though that remains to be seen.
If you caught our article yesterday, it seems that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s next step would depend entirely on what happens next season. That of course and on whether the Lakers have any plans of re-signing Kobe to at least a one-year contract from then on.
Kobe claims that if ever he continues to play, money will not be an issue. Bryant says that he and his family are certainly well-off so it will not be a factor in case he does decide to continue playing ball, whether it be in Los Angeles or some other team (including overseas).
For the sake of argument, let us assume that Kobe does retire. What would his next step be?
Well it could be a lot of things which retired NBA players have done. He could end up as a TV analyst or maybe focus his attention on something else.
Of course, he could also opt to become a family man if he feels that he is fully settled.
Then again, there is one possible occupation that he could be offered and it is something that most basketball players are almost certain of pursuing – coaching.
Coaching is technically the next step for most basketball stars to consider. His head coach is one of them, Byron Scott. After his playing days, Scott took on coaching and has done a decent job of doing so despite not yet winning an NBA title.
Other notable names on the list include Jason Kidd, Rick Carlisle, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr. From the mentioned names alone, one could single out that they were all guards in their prime.
So, would Kobe be open to coaching ball in case he does decide to hang up his sneakers?
Currently on tour in China, Kobe was asked through Chinese social media site Weibo if coaching was one of his options after his playing days. Lakers Nation took the liberty of translating all that and Kobe’s answer was simply not interested in pursuing a coaching career.
"Coaching isn’t for me. I just have no interest in doing it."
The thing is, Kobe says he loves teaching but not coaching. However, is coaching not teaching?
Regardless, Kobe’s love for teaching could be done in a different way. He could end up opening a basketball academy or school which technically doesn’t mean he will be coaching or mentoring.