Kobe Bryant not planning to play in BIG3 league next year

FILE – In this Dec. 18, 2017 file photo, former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant arrives for a halftime ceremony, retiring both of his jersey’s during an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)

NEW YORK — Kobe Bryant won’t be coming out of retirement to play in the BIG3 next year.

A spokesperson for the longtime Los Angeles Lakers star said Tuesday that Bryant isn’t playing next season in the 3-on-3 league of former NBA players.

Speculation that Bryant would play had heated up earlier in the day when league co-founder and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz said during the league’s weekly conference call that he “did hear from a credible source yesterday that Kobe says he’s playing next year.”

But Molly Carter, chief marketing officer of Kobe Inc., says the NBA’s No. 3 career scorer has no plans to do so.

The BIG3 wraps up its second season with the championship game on Friday in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.