Los Angeles Lakers guard, Kobe Bryant is playing his 20th season, and some have speculated that this season could be his last. Apart from that, Bryant said in an interview, that he wants to be a part of Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, the L.A. Lakers guard said during an interview, that he wants to join Team USA before he retires.
"It would mean the world to me to be around those guys," Bryant told Reynolds of AP. "I think to be able to have a chance to continue the relationship that I already have with most of those guys, talking and just kind of being around each other and understanding that this is it, it's just us being together, that would be fun," he added.
Bryant has been finding it hard to pick his shots, and he's connecting on a career-low shooting average of 32-percent for the 1-5 Lakers, according to Bleacher Report. Nonetheless, he's a member of the previous two Team USA Summer Olympics gold-medal teams in 2008 and 2012. L.A, thus making him a future Hall of Famer.
Bryant averages 5.3 rebounds, 25.3 points and 4.8 assists per game in his career. As of now, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone have exceeded career NBA points more than Byrant.
Blast from the past, Sporting News pointed out that Bryant had averaged 12.1 points per game when he played for the Team USA in 2012 London Olympics. While Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant were the primary scorers.
Given that Bryant is struggling with his shot, he believes he can contribute value to the Team USA on the court.
"How I feel now is that I feel like I can add value from a leadership perspective and a defensive perspective," Bryant told Reynolds. "I can still move extremely well defensively," he added.
