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Kobe Bryant to Retire: Twitter Reacts to Lakers Star's Announcement

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerX.com LogoFeatured Columnist

Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) reacts to a call during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
LM Otero/Associated Press

Between Kobe Bryant's performance and injury issues over the last few years, most expected this to be his final season in the NBA.     

The Los Angeles Lakers star announced in an open letter on the Players' Tribune that he'll retire at the end of the 2015-16 campaign:  

The Players' Tribune @PlayersTribune

"This season is all I have left to give." @kobebryant pens a letter to basketball: https://t.co/hu5CUoXHhJ https://t.co/1ogKdH7buP

Bryant also wrote an open letter for fans (via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press):

Tim Reynolds @ByTimReynolds

Kobe's letter to fans. https://t.co/9XldXhfzmO

The Lakers provided the letter to every fan attending Sunday night's game against the Indiana Pacers:

Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

All 18,997 in attendance tonight will receive a copy of @kobebryant's "Dear Basketball" letter. https://t.co/iV1V7V0i2E

ESPN The Magazine's Don Van Natta Jr. argued Kobe is still unable to escape Michael Jordan's massive shadow even as he pens his retirement letter:

Don Van Natta Jr. @DVNJr

Michael Jordan can also write "Dear Basketball" retirement letters better than Kobe. https://t.co/jgUYZ0np7n

"Sad. We talked about it last night," said Lakers head coach Byron Scott, per the team's Twitter account. "I told him it kind of shocked me when he told me."

Scott also reminisced about Bryant's career:

Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

Byron remembers an 18-year-old Kobe telling him he wants to be the best: "I saw that come to light for a long period of time."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (via the NBA's Twitter account) provided a statement on the news:

NBA @NBA

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement regarding @kobebryant’s announcement today https://t.co/fenWAw4qSH

On Sunday's edition of NBA Game Time, Brent Barry and Rick Fox, the latter of whom played with Bryant on the Lakers, reacted to the news:

Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant's most famous teammate given their up-and-down relationship in Los Angeles, took the time to wish Bryant well in retirement:

SHAQ @SHAQ

It's time for u to take it all in... sit back, relax & enjoy all that u have built. Love u lil bro @kobebryant https://t.co/zDcNjWHBDp

Pau Gasol, who helped Bryant win two more championships after O'Neal's departure, also paid tribute to Bryant:

Watching Kobe this year has been somewhat depressing for basketball fans everywhere. The greatest scorer of his generation, now 37, entered Sunday averaging 15.7 points a night on 31.5 percent shooting. Rather than adjusting his game to deal with the effects of old age, Bryant remains the same high-volume shooter he was in his prime, and the results have been predictably disastrous.

Still, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix is of the opinion that Bryant's final years will be largely forgotten much in the same way Jordan's seasons with the Washington Wizards were:

Chris Mannix @ChrisMannixYS

Years from now, we won't remember this broken, battered, Kobe Bryant. We will remember one of the greatest shooting guards of all-time.

SportsCenter noted the numerous accolades Bryant has earned during his time on the court, which will overshadow the injury-plagued twilight of his legendary career:

SportsCenter @SportsCenter

Kobe Bryant: 3rd all-time in scoring 17-time All-Star 5 NBA Titles 2-time NBA Finals MVP 2-time NBA Scoring Champ https://t.co/KLvSZ5BRVR

ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst rued one aspect of Kobe's legacy that will go unfulfilled:

Brian Windhorst @WindhorstESPN

Kobe Bryant or LeBron James have been in every Finals since 2007 but never got to face off. History's loss.

Bryant will wind up the third-highest scorer in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and fifth in made field goals. The advanced metrics aren't quite as generous for Kobe in part due to his poor shot selection at times. FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver decided to have one more playful jab at the 2-guard:

Nate Silver @NateSilver538

Controversially, Kobe's poem rated as a 18.4 PER (Poetry Efficiency Rating) but a -2.1 BPM (Ballad Plus-Minus).

For those interested in following the Kobe Bryant retirement tour, Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears highlighted the most interesting games left on the Lakers' schedule:

Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpearsESPN

Key games left for Kobe: 12/1 @PHI; 12/30 @BOS; 1/14 @GS; 2/6 @SA; 2/10 @CLE; 2/21 @CHI; 3/10 CLE; 3/13 NY; 4/6 @LAC; 4/11 @OKC; 4/13 UTAH.

Yahoo Sports' Eric Freeman envisions an All-Star send-off for Bryant in Toronto as well:

Eric Freeman @freemaneric

Congrats to Kobe on becoming the 2016 All-Star Game MVP.

According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Bryant might also receive a swansong with Team USA as USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo confirmed Kobe could still be a member of the team that goes to the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The timing of Bryant's announcement leaves fans with more than enough time to get their last looks at Kobe before he hangs it up for good. It certainly would've been a shame if he decided to retire with little fanfare at the end of the year.