Vanessa Bryant wants to put an end to all of this talk regarding an NBA comeback for her husband Kobe, TMZ reports.
In a video posted on Vanessa’s Instagram account of herself relaxing in Mexico, someone tried to get to the bottom of the rumors, asking her, “Is Kobe comin back or not? I know it’s lowkey up to you.” She made it as clear as she could that the Black Mamba is done for good.
"Kobe will not be coming out of retirement to play again," Vanessa responded. "He doesn't want to play again and frankly we really enjoy spending time together as a family without the crazy game schedule interfering with birthdays, holidays and special events."
Rumors of a possible Kobe comeback picked up steam Sunday night when his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Nealtold TMZ, “Kobe coming back I heard. Kobe coming back! You heard it here first!” While it’s more plausible to believe that Shaq was simply trolling, instead of sharing some insight into Bryant’s leanings, his take still managed to inject some life into the dying narrative that the 39-year-old Bryant was entertaining a return to the league.
The belief that Bryant could return to the NBA started to take shape after LeBron James announced his decision to sign with the Lakers. Kobe revealed that after the news became official, he reached out to James, telling him, "Anything you need on my end, I got you." People somehow assumed that a comeback after more than two years away from the game of basketball was part of the offer Kobe extended to LeBron. Vanessa wants everyone to know that it's not happening.
