The sports world was turned upside down the other day when 17-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant penned a poem to The Players’ Tribune announcing that this would be his final season.
With his Los Angeles Lakers struggling and falling into obscurity, The Black Mamba said that he’s lost the desire to play hoops every single day, leaving him to make the tough decision to walk away after making it through one last year—his 20th in a Lakers uniform.
Often compared to Michael Jordan, we take a look back on Kobe’s legacy to see that, while he may not have surpassed MJ, he’s still one of the 10 greatest ballers in NBA history.