The answer to the widely asked question surrounding Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has finally been answered by the man himself — this will be his last season and he will retire by season's end.

Bryant has been hounded with questions surrounding his career plans since the offseason. He had reiterated before that he was still unsure and he might decide at some point in the season, which many suspected to be at the end of his contract.

But it seems that Bryant didn't need to wait that long and made his decision to retire by way of the Player's Tribune in a post titled "Dear Basketball."

The announcement came in the form of a poem, in which he shared how the sport gave a six-year-old boy his Lakers dream.

"This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye," says Bryant in part of that entry, which in all sums up his plans after this season.

Bryant bears that his decision to retire has been up there lingering, although the final verdict would have to come from the inside of him.

And by doing so, Bryant says that a big weight has been taken off his shoulders. He has been struggling lately, as highlighted in his dismal shooting night against the Golden State Warriors recently.

Head coach Byron Scott was surprised at the decision, particularly when Bryant told him that he was going to retire.

To others, the announcement seemed to have been forthcoming, although not this early. Bryant cannot be faulted for his dismal play as of late, considering he is coming off injuries that have hampered him from sharpening up.

Regardless, Bryant has had a stellar National Basketball Association (NBA) career and haters and likers alike know for a fact that he deserves the respect for what he has done for the Lakers and the NBA.

With that settled, Scott may have to come up with a new game plan to whip up the Lakers back to shape. Scott hasn't necessarily come up with anything big in terms of mapping out plans for the young players but now, he may be forced to do so unless he gets the boot at some point soon.