#BBB NEWS| Kobe Bryant Announces This Will Be His Final Season In The NBA [PHOTO]

Kobe Bryant is ready to gracefully bow out. Sunday evening (November 29) the five-time NBA champion took to Twitter to announce he will be retiring from basketball after his 20th season in the league via a poem/love letter titled “Dear Basketball”

Number 24’s announcement comes on the heels of one of his worst seasons of his career. The 6’6 shooting guard as of late has averaged 15.7 points per game, as opposed to his career average of almost 25. 3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

Bryant who won three titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and then again in 2009 and 2010 admitted he will always love basketball, but can no longer handle the physical toll it takes.

    You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
    And I’ll always love you for it.
    But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
    This season is all I have left to give.
    My heart can take the pounding
    My mind can handle the grind
    But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

Twenty seasons, five rings, two-time NBA finals MVP titles and countless endorsement deals, Kobe Bryant is going down as one of the greatest.

Respect.