Kobe Bryant has no plans to play overseas after he retires from the Lakers

There have long been rumors that whenever Kobe Bryant retires from playing in the NBA, he will head overseas to play a few more seasons. The Los Angeles Lakers' shooting guard refuted that line of thinking this weekend, when he told Marc Stein of ESPN "he doesn't have plans to play abroad" when he ends his time in the association.

The poor record of the Lakers and Bryant's own individual struggles have led to a lot of questions about what Bryant will do next.  The 19-year veteran recently told his Olympic head coach Mike Krzyzewski "if something changes I'll come back and play next season. If something doesn't change, this is it for me" on the Duke coach's weekly radio show. Bryant also stated that he will be "a Laker for life" after Phil Jackson speculated that Bryant could play elsewhere when his contract ended.

Bryant played 36 minutes two games ago against the Detroit Pistons, which left him sore enough to dread walking to his car, before sitting out against the Phoenix Suns. Bryant is expected to return to the Lakers starting lineup against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.