Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant ,24, takes a shot against Portland’s Al-Farouq Aminu,8, during the first quarter at the Staples Center. Los Angeles Calif., Sunday, November,22, 2015.
(Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze)

For once, a man walked into Staples Center understanding just as much as Kobe Bryant about the toll that NBA miles can put on a body.

Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd currently ranks fourth in the NBA in minutes played (50,111) through a 19-year NBA career. Following the Lakers’ 113-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at Staples Center, Bryant has logged 47,450 minutes, ninth in the NBA.

“I think we can probably take one of Kobe’s quotes, I hope I get it right, because I felt the same way, it’s that, ‘You’re worried about getting into the car,'” Kidd said before the game. “People can laugh at that or take that lightly, but when you put that type of time on your body, it starts to take time to walk to the car or walk to the bathroom — you take those things for granted.”

Bryant has not been able to take that for granted for quite some time. Although he is entering his 20th and final NBA season, he has played fewer minutes than Kidd because of season-ending injuries for three consecutive seasons.

Bryant tore his left Achilles tendon on April, 2013 shortly before the Lakers’ four-game sweep to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. Bryant returned eight months later, only to play six games before needing season-ending surgery on his left knee. Last season, Bryant lasted 35 games before needing surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder.

“We come in not understanding who Father Time is. At the end, you find out very quickly who he is and that he’s undefeated. There’s no way around it,” Kidd said. “The question is. ‘When is the right time?’ You have to come and have peace with yourself that you can reflect and say, ‘Did I do everything?’ The game has been great to me. Hopefully I left everything out there on the floor and I think you can see that with Kobe.”

Kidd retired after the 2012-13 season before immediately taking head-coaching gigs with the Brooklyn Nets (2013-14) and Milwaukee Bucks (2014-present). Bryant announced two weeks ago he will retire following the 2015-16 season. Since then, Bryant has appeared at ease with coaches, teammates, team officials and reporters alike.

Meanwhile, plenty around the NBA have reflected on Bryant’s legacy, which has entailed five NBA championships, a third place standing on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Kidd offered perspective both as a teammate and an opponent.

“His work ethic, his ability to perform and raise the bar each year, each game, that’s what made him special,” Kidd said. “Throughout our careers, we saw each other in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he’s got an undefeated record there, maybe.”

Not quite.

Bryant hit a game-winning shot over Kidd when he played with the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals. The Lakers swept Kidd with the former New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals. But Kidd helped the Dallas Mavericks beat the Lakers in a four-game sweep in the 2011 Western Conference semifinals before winning the NBA title.

Bryant and Kidd also won together with the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

“I was honored to be on the same team with him, to watch him be him and be the leader and be one of the best players in the world and enjoy that stage and win a gold medal. That’s a lot of fun,” Kidd said. “It was a great group of guys. We had great character and had a lot of fun with one another. They just brought me along to be the towel guy. That was nice.”

RELATED:

Kobe Bryant challenges Larry Nance Jr. to dunk on Dwight Howard

Lakers’ Kobe Bryant deferential on 2016 NBA All-Star game

Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard share a hug, put feud in the past

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and on Facebook. E-mail him at mark.medina@langnews.com