Future Basketball Hall of Famer and former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has turned down an offer to join TNT’s Inside the NBA.
According to TMZ, the Inside the NBA crew had given Bryant an offer to join the show either this season or next. The crew consists of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.
Bryant could have been asked to join the show to eventually replace Barkley. There have been some reports that Barkley is tired of doing the show and that he would retire in the coming years, Sports Illustrated notes.
Kobe was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played his entire 20-year career. He announced early this season that he would retire at the end of the year. He scored a season-high 60 points in his final game on April 13 against the Utah Jazz. He won five NBA championships, an NBA MVP, was a two-time NBA Finals MVP, is third on the league’s all-time scoring list, was an All-Star 18 times and won two Olympic gold medals.
Bryant will train Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef O’Neal this summer.