Kobe Bryant dove into the deep end recently in an interview with Graham Bensinger and spoke about everything from former rape charges against him to the design of his sneakers. 

Yahoo Sports' Bensinger caught up with the Lakers' star as he prepares to head to London with the rest of the 2012 US Men's Basketball Team. 

The Black Mamba is getting quite gabby at his old age. 

At 35, Bryant may be far from old in layman's terms, but the NBA superstar is near-retirement age when it comes to playing basketball. 

At least, that is how he sees it. 

The recent interview is pretty much a walk down memory lane, something we will see a great deal more of as Bryant wraps up a Hall of Fame career. 

We may be closer to the end than we previously thought. Bensinger brings up an old statement wherein Bryant declared he would be enjoying retirement by the time he was 35. Here is the video where he doesn't disagree with his old self. 

The window for another title may very well be two seasons long. 

The odd part in all this is the usually private Bryant has no problem opening up for a long-winded retelling of some of the key moments during his career. 

What we found is he is just as susceptible to fear as any of us, and he will never forget the time he was charged with a major crime. 

The most arduous time in Bryant's life was no doubt the summer of 2003 when he was charged for sexual assault. One very public year in the media and a few dropped charges later, Bryant was a changed man. 

Here is a snippet of the video regarding Colorado. 

Bryant speaks like a man who went through some "real pressure" as he puts it. Sure, we laud him with the ability to shoot with seconds on the clock as if he had ice in his veins. 

That is all entertainment compared to the fear he must have had that life as he knew it may very well have been over. 

The Colorado charges weren't the only issues that forced Bryant to mature. His constant back and forth with Shaquille O'Neal and former head coach Phil Jackson were also discussed. 

Bryant gets pretty frank about his relationship with his fellow alpha male, and concedes things, "just weren't going to work" between the two. 

He had some things to prove, and that didn't include Shaq. 

If you want to know about his upcoming shoes, he makes time for even that. Here is a link to that portion of the interview. 

He asks the impossible to perfect the smallest of sneaker details, much as we would envision him doing. 

The entire interview serves to wrap up a career that is just about over, or so Bryant declares. His legacy covers a swath of emotions and accolades, triumphs and misery. 

Thankfully, Bryant had no issue in delving into any of it. 

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