'So, got any other gigantic things to drop on me in the middle of a game?' (AP/Alex Gallardo)

You think you had the week's top "Kobe Bryant gave me the heads-up on retiring" story, Dwyane Wade? Well, think again. Your "Kobe telling me to bring my kids to the game while sitting in a cold tub" tale didn't even last one full day atop this particular set of power rankings, thanks to the Mamba's chosen means of informing Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott of his future plans.

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The scoop comes to us, as many good Laker-y things do, from ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes:

What has remained secret until now is how the 37-year-old Bryant delivered the news to Scott: during a game.

In an interview with ESPN on Friday, Scott revealed the details of that exchange, which he said occurred at the start of the third quarter of the Lakers' 108-96 loss to the Trail Blazers on Saturday.

"I said, 'KB, I played you 20 minutes in the first half. I'm going to cut those minutes down. I've got to cut them down,'" Scott said after his team's morning shootaround ahead of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. "He said, 'That's good, coach. That's all right. I'm going to announce my retirement after the game.'"

Scott said he was stunned.

You could really tell. Just look at how locked-in and engaged Scott seemed earlier in the game:

View photos Before. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) More

... and how beside himself and flustered he seemed after the revelation:

View photos After. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) More

(OK, OK, you got me. That picture's actually from L.A.'s Nov. 16 game against the Phoenix Suns. By the way, have you noticed that Byron Scott likes to stand on the sidelines, nearly motionless and emotionless, with his arms folded across his chest? Yeah, me too.)

While Scott felt quite understandably scattered after the stunning disclosure, Bryant himself proceeded with business as usual. He'd scored 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting in 15 minutes, 39 seconds of first-half playing time; he went on to score six more on 2-for-8 shooting in 15 minutes, 44 seconds of second-half burn. The Lakers lost by 12, their fifth straight defeat; afterward, Bryant spoke about the difficulties he'd been facing throughout his attempt to come back from a third-straight season-ending injury in this, his 20th season in Laker purple and gold.

"It's tough," Bryant said, according to Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press. "After almost 20 years, it's tough. The legs aren't what they used to be. But I just continue to fight through and take the opportunities when they are there."