“DENVER, CO – DECEMBER 30: Kobe Bryant (24) of the Los Angeles Lakers watches as the Denver Nuggets attempt a pair of free throws during the first quarter of action. The Denver Nuggets hosted the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center on Monday, December 30, 2014. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)”
The concerns persist on Father Time throwing Kobe Bryant some more lethal punches. Lakers coach Byron Scott continuously second-guessed and blamed himself for burdening his star player with too many minutes. Yet, it seems possible that Bryant’s season-ending injury to his right shoulder coincided with those two elements instead of having a direct correlation.
Bryant revealed in an interview aired on NBA TV on Monday evening that he nursed an injury to his right shoulder for “a long time,” possibly even more than when Scott reported Bryant mildly complained about pain in his shoulder during an otherwise forgettable practice sometime in December, 2014.
“I never actually got an MRI on it because the strength of my shoulder, even now, is good,” Bryant told NBA TV’s Ahmad Rashad about his torn rotator cuff. “It’s fine. I can shoot. I keep tearing it more and more. I have this pain a long time. I never got it looked at because the strength is so good.”
That eventually backfired, though. Bryant felt sharp pain in his right shoulder after throwing a baseline dunk over New Orleans’ Dante Cunningham in the third quarter of the Lakers’ eventual loss on Jan. 21 to the Hornets. Although Bryant sat shortly afterwards to rest his shoulder, he reentered the game midway through the fourth quarter and dribbled, pass and shot using mostly his left hand. Bryant then headed toward the locker room without a minute remaining in the game.
Bryant initially downplayed the injury, but he soon learned two days later he would need surgery. The following week, Bryant learned he would stay sidelined for about nine months, making it unclear how much Bryant will appear in training camp beginning in late September.
Bryant recalled feeling frustration about that diagnosis for obvious reasons. He tore his left Achilles tendon on April, 2013, and rehabbed for eight months. Bryant then played only six games in the 2013-14 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. This season, Bryant averaged 22.3 points on a career-low 37.3 percent clip.
“Ughhh I just did this!'” Bryant reenacted. “I just did this! Nine months,. I just did nine months. I have to do it again!”
Why would Bryant subject himself to do it again just to return for his 20th year in what will likely mark his last season. Bryant’s answer hardly addressed the $25 million the Lakers owe him.
“The process of it,” Bryant said. “I want to see if I can. I don’t know if I can. I want to find out. What I’m going to do is what I’ve always done. Break it down to the smallest form and detail and go after it. Day by day, one at a time.”
Bryant will wear a sling on his right shoulder for likely three more weeks before beginning a rehab process that currently remains unspecified. Yet, Bryant stressed his current injury does not seem as difficult to tackle as the rehab surrounding his left Achilles, which he described as “brutal.”
“You control what you can control,” Bryant said.
Yet, Bryant conceded self doubt has crept in, a theme that he has fought with after suffering three major injuries for consecutive seasons.
“I realized I had those moments when I looked at the big picture and the finish line,” Bryant said. “I can’t worry about that. I have to focus on now. It’s a constant dance. It happens all the time. It happens to me now.”
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