By the time his career is over, Kobe Bryant will have spent over half of his life on earth playing in the NBA. He will without a doubt go down as one of the most decorated NBA players of all-time, but hints that though his NBA career may be over, his playing days may not be.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, the five-time NBA champion was asked if he would ever consider playing overseas when his NBA career was done.
"It would be natural for me to go do it," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports. "It wouldn't be a stretch at all. I grew up here."
Bryant grew up in Italy while his father, Joe Bryant, played in the Italian league. Bryant grew up a fan of Mike D'Antoni who was the reason why he wore No.8 with the Lakers to begin his career.
"You'd have to look at the market and what's going on in terms of the level of basketball being played," Kobe said. "I understand there's a high level of competitive basketball in Turkey now. They might have the best league in Europe. Spain has obviously been one of the top leagues for a long time. And Italy is a place that's dear in my heart, I grew up there, but the level is not where it used to be. When I was growing up over there, that was the best league in Europe."
The level of play in other countries have increased ever since the 1992 Dream Team dominated the Olympics in Barcelona. NBA players like Deron Williams, Josh Childress, Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury have spent some time playing professionally in other countries.
So Bryant doing the same doesn't seem too farfetched.
Bryant is the type who enjoys the sport for the competitive experience. So if he's still able to play at a high level going into his 40's, then why not finish where it all began and win a few championships along the way?
