Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA after the 2015-2016 season. But he may not be done on the hardwood just yet.
While Kobe Bryant may be officially retired from his role as an NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers after 20 great seasons, the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer may not be done playing basketball just yet.
Ice Cube, a rapper and the creator of the new BIG3, a 3-on-3 basketball league featuring former NBA players that was started in January of 2017, expressed his desire for Bryant to eventually join the new league.
“I hope so, one day. I hope his competitive juices get the itch in him and he wants to, you know, come in the league and score 50 and win the game. We hope he’ll play one day. But if not you know we still got some great players. Still competitive guys that want to play.”
Other former NBA players such as Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups currently play in the league, and it may just keep getting bigger.
While Bryant himself has not stated that he wishes to keep playing, nothing can be ruled out at this point. In fact, Paul Pierce, who retired after this past season, has talked about joining the league, and he has mentioned Kobe’s name in regard to potentially joining the league and forming a “super team” among retired players.
“You never know. I might try to convince KG, Kobe and we might try to set up our own team.”
While Kobe returning to the basketball court would not feature him suiting up in the purple and gold he wore for two decades with the Lakers, it would still be exciting to watch him team up with some of the other NBA greats in the BIG3. Will Ice Cube get his wish?
How would you feel about Kobe Bryant coming to the BIG3 to continue competing on the basketball court with other former NBA stars? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with FanSided for news, opinions, and analysis stemming from numerous different sports. You don’t want to miss any of it.