Peyton Manning ended his career with a Super Bowl championship.

Abby Wambach called it a career with a World Cup title.

And Kobe Bryant retired after the Los Angeles Lakers went a dreadful 17-65 record.

Standing beside Manning and Wambach to receive the ESPYS Icon award Wednesday night, the five-time NBA champion used just that to poke fun at himself before talking about all the hard work it took for the three to reach this level.

We love the Black Mamba evoking his high school English teacher, saying, "rest at the end, not at the middle," adding that he took that quote to heart throughout his career.

After 20 glorious NBA seasons, Kobe has definitely earned the right to kick back and take it easy.

However, good luck with that, considering he and his wife, Vanessa, are expecting their third daughter.

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