The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant spent the second half of Wednesday’s game at Denver on the bench nursing a sore shoulder. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER — Both elite players experienced Father Time’s unforgiving touch, but still vowed to fight through it. But Kobe Bryant and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning might differ when it comes to how they handle their exit.

Bryant will end his 20th and final NBA season without a playoff appearance for the third consecutive season. But he has sounded at peace with walking away from a game he loves. Manning just won his second Super Bowl and remains undecided on if he will retire from his 18-year NFL career.

Did the Lakers’ misfortunes make Bryant’s decision easier?

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t make these decisions based on outside influences or success or failures,” Bryant said following the Lakers’ 117-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at Pepsi Center. “This is a very personal decision and very emotional decision. So you have to make that from within. You can’t cheat the game. You can’t do that. I don’t have that desire to come back and perform again. So I’m not.”

Part of Bryant’s enduring legacy will entail his talent and work ethic that secured five NBA championships and a third-place finish on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Hence, it hardly sounded surprising Bryant monitored Manning’s career closely.

“I follow Payton’s process from day one in how he prepares and hoping I can find something that I can learn from,” Bryant said, “I’ve always been in tune with that. I couldn’t be any happier with the way he performed this season and winning the Super Bowl. Everybody said he was done.”

But after nursing three season-ending injuries in consecutive years, did it become hard for Bryant to realize when he was done?

“That’s something that was always concerning to me as a kid growing up; when do you know it’s time to walk away?” Bryant said. “I was very fortunate to have that epiphany. I feel very comfortable with it and I feel very at peace with it. If I was teeter-tottering, I wouldn’t have announced it. I would have kept playing because that means I’m not ready to let go yet. You got to go with what’s in your heart.”

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