NBA star and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant says he has decided to retire after this season.
The 37-year-old Bryant made the announcement in a post on The Players' Tribune on Sunday.
The decision was not totally unexpected, given that Bryant has said many times in recent weeks that he was considering making his 20th NBA season his last.
There's no more wondering now.
After two decades, two Olympic gold medals, five championship rings, 17 All-Star selections, an 81-point game that ranks as the second-best in NBA history and more than 32,000 points, Bryant's career is officially winding down.
He said this last season was all 'I have left to give', in an open letter to the sport he posted on The Players' Tribune.
'I can't love you obsessively for much longer,' Bryant said in the letter titled 'Dear Basketball'.
'My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye.'
He wrote: 'I'm ready to let you go. I want you to know now, so we both can savour every moment we have left together. The good and the bad.'
'We have given each other all that we have.'
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in a statement released moments after Bryant's news surfaced, called the Lakers guard one of the greatest players in the game.
'Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game,' said Silver.
'I join Kobe's millions of fans around the world in congratulating him on an outstanding NBA career and thank him for so many thrilling memories.'
The 37-year-old also revealed that basketball icon Michael Jordan was one of the first people to hear the news during a conversion the pair had during the summer.
He added: '[Jordan] is actually one of the first people that I told over the summer. We've been in frequent contact.'
'We had some laughs, went back and forth about it. But the important thing for him, he said, "Just enjoy it. No matter what, just enjoy it. Don't let anybody take that away from you, no matter what happens, good or bad. Enjoy it, man.'''
Bryant has appeared in 17 All-Star games, was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2007-08 regular season and landed MVP honours in the 2009 and 2010 Finals when he led the Lakers to consecutive championships.
He has scored more than 32,000 points, including an 81-point game that is the second best in NBA history, and has two Olympic gold medals to his name.
He ranks only behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Karl Malone on the NBA All-Time Points Leader ranking.
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