Kobe Bryant’s illustrious NBA career will be coming to an end after this season.

In a post on The Players’ Tribune, Bryant wrote a heartfelt poem, in which he announced his intention to hang up his sneakers and step away from the game of basketball after this season. Bryant had been one of the defining players of the NBA in the post-Michael Jordan era, and is arguably this generation's most iconic and popular superstar, drawing millions of fans and winning five championships.

In his poem, Bryant writes,

“This season is all I have left to give.

My heart can take the pounding

My mind can handle the grind

But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”

Bryant's message is clear – he’s retiring at this season’s end. The Players’ Tribune also sent out a press release confirming this will be Bryant’s last season. ESPN's Darren Rovell reported that Bryant’s poem was viewed so many times that it crashed the site for 45 minutes.

His announcement doesn’t come as a total surprise, as he had hinted early on this season that the 2015-16 campaign could be his last. In a gesture to the fans, Bryant wrote a letter to fans who attended the Lakers’ Sunday home game against the Indiana Pacers at Staples Center.

Bryant, 37, currently sits third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and will retire holding many Lakers individual career records, as well as the NBA record for most seasons spent with one team.

Unfortunately, Bryant has suffered season-ending injuries over the past three seasons that has sapped his athleticism and diminished his stardom as he winds down his epic 20-season career. He spent his entire career with the Lakers since he was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets in a trade on draft night in 1996. Bryant was one of the last truly great players to come directly out of high school, as he was drafted with the 13th pick overall at the age of 17.

This season, Bryant is averaging 15.7 points, a far cry from his 25.3 career average. He has also struggled mightily shooting the ball this season, only converting 31.5 percent of his field-goal attempts and a miserable 19.5 percent of his three-pointers.

Despite his struggles, coach Byron Scott has said he will not bench Bryant. He has been one of the few vocal supporters of Bryant’s play this season, and was apparently “shocked” at Bryant’s decision to retire at this season’s end, CBS Sports reports.

The Lakers are currently 2-14, and unless they miraculously scrape together a playoff run in the competitive Western Conference, Bryant’s final NBA game will be on Wednesday, April 13 against the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center. It remains to be seen if Bryant will continue to play heavy minutes (31 per game) through his farewell season, or if the Lakers’ promising youngsters (D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle) will get more playing time.

Players and officials around the league were quick to pay respects to the Laker legend, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issuing a statement on the future first-ballot Hall-of-famer and former Laker great Magic Johnson praising Bryant and calling him “the closest thing we’ve seen to Michael Jordan.”

Watch Kobe’s first press conference after announcing his retirement here: