Kobe drops retirement hint

File photo of Kobe Bryant. [Photo/IC]

"My body and my legs feel extremely strong and healthy," adding that he expected to make a decision on his future at the end of the season.

"I'm making this very simple. Either I like playing the game and going through this process or I don't," Bryant said. "But I think that decision needs to be made after the season."

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in May that Bryant had already signalled that the coming season would be his last.

"He has indicated to me this is it," Kupchak said. "He's on the last year of a deal. There have been no discussions about anything going forward. I don't think there will be."

Bryant has played for the Lakers for his entire NBA career, but a succession of injuries have left him unable to regularly display the form that made him a 17-time All-Star, two-time NBA scoring champion and two-time Olympic champion.

Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon in April of 2013 to end his season, but signed a two-year contract extension worth $48.5 million that set him up to become the first player to compete for the same club for 20 seasons.