LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Kobe Bryant will play the final game of his illustrious 20-season NBA career tonight when the Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.
Bryant announced his retirement effective at the end of the season on Nov. 29 in a poem titled “Dear Basketball,” published on the website The Players’ Tribune.
“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.”
A video tribute to Bryant will be shown before player introductions and additional video tributes will be played during timeouts throughout the course of the game, John Black, the Lakers vice president of public relations, told City News Service.
Bryant will speak to the crowd at the conclusion of the game, Black said.
All fans in attendance will receive a commemorative program, T-shirt and ticket lanyard .The Metro stop near Staples will be named the “Kobe Station,” for today.