Kobe Bryant put to rest rumors that surfaced this offseason of whether the Lakers legend would come out of retirement to play with LeBron James.
During an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show," Bryant made it clear he has no plans to return to the court after being away from the game for more than two years.
"There's about a zero percent chance I come back and play," Bryant said. "I think unfortunately for us athletes, we've been pigeonholed into thinking that we can only be one thing. So when I retired everyone was saying, 'He's too competitive. He's not going to know what to do with himself. He's going to have to come back.'
"I took that as a personal challenge of them thinking I'm this one-dimensional person. That all I know is how to dribble a ball, shoot the ball and play basketball and compete at that level."
He added: "I will never come back to the game, ever. I'm here to show people that we can do much more than that."
Many close to Bryant, including his wife, have indicated he has no plans to come out of retirement, but this was the first time Bryant addressed the offseason rumors.
Bryant's career ended April 13, 2016 after 20 seasons in the NBA, all spent with the Lakers.
