Kobe Bryant His comment I found on Time, ”My mind says it can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say good-bye.” What he meant is that he wants to play as a NBA player next year, but it's become physically too tough to keep playing. That's why he's decided on his retirement after this season. Am I correct? a word, grind is new to me, so I'm not really sure what the grind exactly means.