Lakers' longtime trainer Gary Vitti to retire after next season

Athletic trainer Gary Vitti has seen it all in his 32 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After next season, Vitti will have seen the end to his storied career.

Vitti, who worked with Lakers legends Shaquille O'Neal, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and now Kobe Bryant, is set to retire after next season, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

Vitti took a spot on the bench next to Pat Riley in 1984. Later, he rode with Phil Jackson as the Lakers' dutiful caretaker. Through three decades on the job, Vitti helped the Lakers make 12 Finals appearances and capture eight championships.

When the Lakers hired Vitti as their head athletic trainer, he was a fresh-faced 30-year-old - the same age as some of the players. Now, at 58 years old, Vitti lords over the bench as the elder statesman.

"Now I'm old enough to be their fathers and some, I guess, even their grandfathers," Vitti joked.

More so than age, it's the Lakers' "nightmare" run of injuries that has Vitti on the outs. In recent years, Vitti had to manage the rocky conclusion of Bryant's career, while overseeing Steve Nash's ever-worsening degenerative back condition.

"When Nash retired, that didn't mean he couldn't play in an NBA game. The problem was how much time did he need to get ready for the next game." Vitti said. "He had lots of issues that prevented him from playing an NBA schedule.

"That's going to be the big question with Kobe, and we're just going to have to feel it out. It's been a while since he's played. We just need to see."

But it wasn't Bryant or Nash that bothered Vitti. Losing rookie Julius Randle to a leg injury in the season opener was the straw that eventually broke Vitti's will.

"The one that really affected me and maybe even affected this decision (to retire) was Julius Randle," Vitti said. "All of his doctors and his surgeon are saying that nothing was missed, but the guy goes out there and breaks his leg the first game (last season). That one really bothered me."

Randle's freak injury punctuated the cruel and monumental decline of the franchise. After winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, Los Angeles has witnessed disappointment after disappointment. Last season - the worst in Lakers history - was a new low.

Still, Vitti will have one season left with his club. He'll help Bryant through his latest comeback attempt before riding off into the sunset with his family. No more dealing with ruptured Achilles, wonky backs, or broken legs. Vitti will leave his all-encompassing job to return home to his wife and daughters.

And after spending 32 years with the league's marquee franchise, Vitti exits with a lifetime of memories as well, fond memories of the good times in Lakers lore.

Here's Vitti on the significance of the Lakers' 1985 championship run:

"From a basketball standpoint, the greatest championship would be 1985, the first time we beat Boston," Vitti said. "We lost to the Celtics the year before and should have beat them. A lot of my interview with Riley was him talking about that. He said to me, 'We need to win.'

"The first day of training camp in 1984, they started talking about beating the Celtics in the Finals in June of 1985. Riley was our GPS. He knew where we were. He knew where we needed to go.

"We went on to beat Boston in six games. On their floor. It broke the curse of the Celtics."

Vitti will remain with the club for two more seasons as a special consultant.