Lakers coach Byron Scott says Kobe told him recently for first time this could be last year

NEW YORK _ Lakers coach Byron Scott says Kobe Bryant recently told him for the first time that this could be his last season.

Scott says he was talking to Bryant about another subject he wouldn’t disclose when he says Bryant revealed that he might choose to retire next summer.

Scott says: “Bottom line is he said this might be his last year.”

That wouldn’t be a surprise. The 37-year-old Bryant is in the final year of his contract and is shooting just 32 per cent while trying to regain his form after a series of injuries in recent seasons.

The Lakers were playing Sunday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, where Bryant scored his first career point in 1996 and where he holds the opponent single-game record with 61 points.

The Associated Press