On November 30, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers announced that he would retire at the end of the 2015-16 National Basketball Association season. Given that the woeful Lakers are highly unlikely to make the playoffs that would put the date at April 14, 2016, the end of their regular season.
As the best basketball player of his generation, Kobe is known world-wide. He ranks third on the NBA’s all-time scorers list with 32,683 points, averaging more than 25 points in his 1,293 NBA games. He also played on gold-medal-winning teams at two Olympic Games.
As a fierce competitor with five championship rings, Kobe has been a market leader for much of his career. That makes his retirement a great opportunity to study the career of a transcendent market leader and what happens when he exits the market he led for so long.
Over the next few months I’ll check in on Kobe as he makes his transition from superstar to whatever he becomes next. Another basketball legend, Magic Johnson, moved on to become a transcendent leader in the business world. Which path will Kobe take? Stay tuned.
