NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott said star guard Kobe Bryant recently told him for the first time that this could be his final season.
Scott said the conversation took place in the past few days and was about a different subject, which Scott declined to disclose, but he said it was during that talk that Bryant revealed that he might retire after the 2015-16 campaign, his 20th with the Lakers.
"That's the first time that he hinted to me that this might be his last year," Scott said Sunday before the Lakers faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Bryant maintained after the game that he has made no decisions about his future and will do so after this season. When asked what will go into that decision, he said it's "just desire, if i want to put my body through it again and continue to play."
Scott said he expects Bryant to start play both games of an upcoming back-to-back set Tuesday in Miami and then Wednesday in Orlando because, as Scott said, Bryant told him, " 'Coach, again, this might be my last year, so if possible, I would like to try to play every game.' "
Scott added, "I'm with that with him and we'll see how it plays out."
The 37-year-old Bryant is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers and has said all along that this could be his final season, though he hasn't yet committed to retiring at the end of it.
On Saturday, Bryant said: "If you asked me today, this would be my last year. But you never know. We'll keep it open. Whatever happens, happens."