Kobe Bryant Plans to End His Career as a Laker

Kobe Bryant is entering the final year of his contract where he is set to earn $23.5 million with the Los Angeles Lakers but this early, all eyes on what the 37-year-old NBA star has planned.

Apparently there are some who believe that Kobe will still play on after this year though that would largely depend on how the season turns out. Will he push himself like before or take it more conservatively? Will he still be reckless or use a more mature approach like hitting shots from the outside and avoiding physical contact?

Those are just some of the questions running in people’s minds when you talk about Kobe. Everyone knows that Kobe wants to bring it inside and make fantastic plays. But at 37, his body may no longer be as sturdy as it was before and hence a factor that could make or break him for the coming season.

Assuming that he does get through the season healthy, does the Black Mamba have any plans?

"They have so many questions that I don't have the answers to," Bryant said via Yahoo Sports. "It's tough for me to answer those things because I genuinely don't know."

His reply is apparently noting different from what many believe, saying that Kobe’s basketball career will be his call and no one else. Right now, Kobe is simply looking forward to playing ball once more with the Lakers who are coming into the season with a practically new and young roster.

“We're not sure how that is going to mix. We don't even know how our starting five is going to look like. We got to figure that stuff out first" says Kobe in the same interview.

As far as his future plans are concerned, it seems Kobe has made it known that he will start and end his career as a Laker.

Such comes after comments made by his former coach Phil Jackson who said that he believes Kobe will be playing beyond this year but for a different ballclub.

"I don't think it's his last year," Jackson said via the New York Daily News. "Sounds like it might be his last year as a Laker."

Now, it seems that Kobe has made it clear that if he continues to play, it will be in El-ay.

"I'm a Laker, man. How many times do I have to say that?" Bryant said. "Dude, I bleed purple and gold."

With eagerly awaiting if Kobe will indeed retire or not, at least we now know that if he continues to play, it will still be wearing the purple and gold.

Could he be offered another two-year contract after this season? It may depend on how he performs and if he can finish the 2015-16 NBA season.

Bryant plans to play in the pre-season opener against the Utah Jazz this Sunday.