When Kobe Bryant was shut down after a shoulder injury, and with the prospect of another mediocre season for the Los Angeles Lakers next year, fans are afraid that the Black Mamba would retire from the game. It couldn't be further from the truth.

In an interview with "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Kobe Bryant quipped that his critics are about ready to put him in his grave.

"I'm just trying to come back from this injury. I take things a day at a time. This is a huge challenge I have in front of me right now. I just want to come back from that," he said.

But Kobe Bryant has considered retiring after his contract, which would pay him $25 million next year, will end.

The Black Mamba, however, is not averse to playing past his contract period if his body allows.

"I don't want to play through a year where everybody knows you're retiring and they give you the old swan song," Bryant said. "I hate that. I want to play the way I've been playing over the last 19 years."

"I want to have the same experiences that I've had. If you want to boo, boo. If you want to heckle, heckle. Those are things I'll never forget," the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said.

Speaking of the Los Angeles Lakers, general manager Mitch Kupchak told Daily News that they are not compromising their future just to accede to Kobe Bryant's obsession to get his sixth ring.

"We have to start a new run, and that's definitely going to include Kobe next year," he said.

But he quickly added that the Los Angeles Lakers will not be jeopardizing "the next five or seven years" to splurge a lot of money on veteran players just so it could give Kobe Bryant his sixth ring, to equal Michael Jordan, before retiring.