The magical mystery tour that is potentially Kobe Bryant's 20th and final NBA season wound through New York this past weekend and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report dropped a lengthy feature on the future Hall of Famer in its aftermath. The piece concentrates on Bryant's reverence for the Big Apple and provided one interesting nugget that just might be our strongest hint yet that this is it for Kobe.
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Bryant admitted that his trip through the league this year feels unique, telling Beck, "Is it a little different this time around? Yeah, yeah."
When asked if he knew when it would be the right time to hang 'em up, Bryant was noncommittal.
"That's always the question, isn't it?" he said, with a chuckle. "You don't know. You don't know. I mean, everybody's standard answer is 'When you know, you know.' That's what everybody says. It's not very helpful. But that's what everybody says. So we'll see if I'm giving the same answer or not."
Bryant obviously hasn't officially announced anything, clearly has no intention of doing so anytime soon, and apparently wants to avoid any formal farewell tour like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter enjoyed during their swan songs. But based on what we're reading and the way Bryant is going about his business this season, the signs keep pointing in the same direction.
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