Will Kobe Bryant's Last Chapter with Los Angeles Lakers End in Disappointment?

Now in his 19th NBA season, Kobe Bryant has proved a lot of skeptics wrong by returning from serious injuries and competing at a high level.

But with the Los Angeles Lakers struggling through another subpar campaign, it’s valid to ask whether the star's closing chapter will end in disappointment.

There are no easy answers, but for now, one of basketball’s giants still finds meaning in the game itself.

After a hard-fought 98-92 victory on the road against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 19, a weary but smiling Bryant appeared on SportsCenter and responded to a query about how he keeps his competitive fire going. "We appreciate the struggle that we're in right now," he said. "We find the beauty in it.”

Back-to-back victories have improved the team’s record to 3-9. That's not acceptable, but at least the Lakers have clawed their way out of last place in a loaded Western Conference. 

Bryant is not even one month into a two-year contract extension, and it’s too early to close the door on possible playoff aspirations. But only a true optimist could predict a major turnaround this season, and the Lakers would need a sizable infusion of free-agent talent next summer to contend for a title, during what will presumably be the shooting star’s final year in the league.

The question of disappointment is quantified differently for Bryant than for your average athlete. He has operated at a rarified level throughout his career, usually focused on only one thing: that next championship victory.

At age 36, he has beaten the odds many times over and is locked in on catching Michael Jordan for third on the NBA all-time points list.

And he isn’t just chipping away in some hobbled fashion. Amazingly, Bryant is currently leading the league in scoring at 27.5 points per game.

His amassing of points is mentioned so often that it loses some of its impact—but it shouldn’t. Bryant is outworking players in their primes and even some who are in the bloom of youth.

Future emotions are impossible to predict, especially in the ever-changing game of sports. A team will lift you up one day and break your heart the next. How, then, can one write a final chapter while there are still curves in the road ahead?

As was painfully apparent during the Lakers' recent four-game skid, Bryant can’t carry the team by himself. After scoring 44 points through three quarters during a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 16, the veteran shooting guard said, per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation, "I'm more than willing to sit back. If you think I want to shoot as many times or be as aggressive at 36, you're freaking crazy."

But two nights later, with Nick Young making his season debut after thumb surgery, the team finally provided a balanced attack, beating the Atlanta Hawks on the road.

And the next night brought a win in Houston, with the Lakers coming from behind in the final moments.

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

The return of Swaggy P has provided a new story arc for this Lakers team and a partner in crime for Bryant. It’s no coincidence that the entire team is playing with renewed energy, confidence and a sense of joy that has been sorely lacking of late.

No man is an island, and while closure is personal and subjective, Bryant’s end game will be intrinsically linked to those around him. If the only NBA team he has ever played for can compete in the moment, there will be some level of satisfaction. But if a farewell tour becomes nothing more than a low-budget movie starring a fading legend, a feel-good ending becomes difficult to envision.

The present finds a still-defiant and intensely competitive basketball superstar forging ahead into uncharted territory. The future is yet to be determined.

Our perspectives change as we age. One wouldn’t expect the prime-time Mamba of yesteryear to be satisfied by anything less than a continuous stream of championship parades.

But if a supporting cast can help keep the story meaningful until the final page has turned, Bryant may be able to close the book with a smile.