“Dear Basketball, I’m ready to let you go”—Kobe Bryant 5 Photos . Updated: 30 Nov 2015, 03:54 PM IST Livemint Kobe Bryant declared his retirement from basketball with a poignant poem titled 'Dear Basketball' 1/5American basketball legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday, formally announced his retirement after the current season. This brings an end to Bryant’s illustrious 20-year career. AP 2/5Bryant made the announcement with a poignant poem where he writes about how he fell in love with the game as a six-year-old and played with all his heart and sweat. AP 3/5During his long association with the Lakers, Kobe Bryant has helped the team win the NBA championship five times and is a 17-time NBA All-star winner and the 1997 Slam dunk champion. He also scored a career-high 81 points in 2006. Reuters 4/5The Lakers shooting guard was also the subject of several fan-generated memes for his habit of never passing the ball on court. Livemint 5/5Bryant’s retirement news has not come as a shock to some analysts who claim that he has not been inform lately. He has missed 123 games due to injusries in the last two years alone. Reuters