As Kobe Bryant relishes in his victory lap after announcing his retirement, the latest person to pick the NBA superstar’s brain is NBA on TNT‘s Ernie Johnson.
Lucky for any diehard Laker fan, the interview was posted to Twitter. The Black Mamba answered the questions everyone wants to know, including whether he could do a sudden about-face and decide not to retire. Kobe says there’s no chance of that happening – he won’t pull a Jordan or Brett Favre and come back from retirement.
Known as one of the most cutthroat competitors in the league, Kobe was asked about the best competitors he’d ever gone up against. He kept it short, naming Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and gave Scottie Pippen an honorable mention. As the league began to develop around Kobe’s talents, defenders got stronger. The ones who gave him the most trouble were Tony Allen, Raja Bowen, and the infamous lockdown artist Bruce Bowen.
Kobe even admitted that his favorite championship ring came in 2010 against the Celtics, and he’d wished things didn’t go sour with Shaq.
Watch the rest of Kobe’s interview with TNT above.
SOURCE: TNT | VIDEO SOURCE: Twitter
