Kobe Bryant gives his big announcement, denies retirement

Feb 25, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 119-108. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant continues his mastery of social media, trolling Lakers fans everywhere as he posted Saturday evening that he would have a “surprise announcement” on facebook.

"You won’t want to miss Sports Spectacular Livestream Sunday #mambavideo #surpsise #announcement"

Naturally, this left the minds of LA fans reeling, wondering if he would announce retirement. Which wasn’t the completely out of the question, as Kobe still has an uphill battle to climb at 34 against an Achilles injury.

Instead, we got this: (via Eric Pincus, LA Times)

"“I’d like to officially announce that I’m partnering with the Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness,” said Bryant in a pre-recorded video, aired at the Sports Spectacular 2013 gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.“You can learn about my past, present and future,” said Bryant of the event, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. “It’s for an incredible cause.”"

Early Monday morning, Bryant took to twitter to deny the growing retirement rumors.

SI.com reports that much of the anxiety surrounding a Bryant retirement came from a tweet by a fake Adrian Wojnarowski account.

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