Rumors started swirling Tuesday when BIG 3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz told rpeorters on a conference call that he heard from a "credible source" that "Kobe is going to be playing next year."
Of course, Ice Cube and several BIG 3 players including Stephen Jackson and Allen Iverson have called for Kobe to join the league -- because it would be awesome -- but Bryant had always said he was retired from basketball.
In fact, when rumors swirled that Kobe was considering coming back to the Lakers for one last season with LeBron James, Vanessa Bryant was adamant he's DONE with hoop.