Kobe Bryant Fights Fierce Competitive Instinct in Battle Against 'Old Age'

CHICAGO — It’s not like Kobe Bryant to let a moment pass him by.

That’s what happened Thursday…Bryant letting down his team, his league and all the fans. He surprisingly sat out the NBA’s Christmas showcase, never even donning the special first-name-on-the-back uniform that was a novelty practically designed for him.

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It’s unnatural for him to step out of the spotlight. It’s even more out of character not to take the stage at all.

“I feel an obligation to play, [even] if I’m at the YMCA,” Bryant said about missing this game.

Yet with the world ready to watch, Bryant chose not to meet the obligation. That’s some wisdom coming with age, which he must apply these days. The best of Bryant has always been unwavering faith to his personal tenets combined with some touch with reality…balance, same as for us all.

For Bryant to flourish in this body—he said Thursday he’s “constantly experimenting” for new-age solutions to his old-age status—he has to find that balance more than ever.

There are plenty of Bryant’s supporters who hope he never changes, who depend on his fearlessness to inspire their own backstage lives and almost want him to be Al Pacino unabashedly going down firing in Scarface.

Bryant wants better than that. So he sat there Thursday night in his maroon jacket and patent leather dress shoes, chewing gum and holding steady as the NBA’s all-time leader in Christmas games played (15) and points scored (383).

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“It’s really going against my nature, man,” he said. “I’ve got to be smart about this.”

What he saw out on the court was a Chicago Bulls team that—after quite a struggle even with lucking into drafting a hometown MVP in Derrick Rose—has finally moved on from the Michael Jordan era the way the Los Angeles Lakers someday will from Bryant, too.

Bryant’s goal, though, is to be great until he announces that day has come.

To that end, he rested Thursday and will again Friday while the Lakers play in Dallas and perhaps longer. Backup Wayne Ellington said Lakers coach Byron Scott told the team “it could be a week” before Bryant returns.

In a sense, it is mature thinking.

It is also making the most of the moment in a different way.

If Bryant knows by now he can’t perform at the level he wants by pounding through the aches and pains and doing things his old way—“I didn’t think I’d be shooting like s**t,” he said—he is now prepared to lean toward his savvy side over his stubborn one.

It was just last week that Bryant passed through the Midwest and didn’t think for a second about resting. 

Darron Cummings/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Lakers were on the last leg of three road games in four nights. It was Indianapolis, where Bryant had, a year-and-a-half ago, maniacally tried to play the first quarter two days after severely spraining his left ankle.

When the Lakers were beyond lethargic this time, trailing by a 60-21 score, a frustrated Bryant ignored his own fatigue and indulged his psycho side. He starting racing all over the court at both ends in the third quarter, creating some energy, misdirected as it was at times.

When the period was over, with Bryant toppling over the scorer’s table in futile pursuit of a loose ball as time expired, the Lakers had cut only two points off Indiana’s 33-point halftime lead.

It was an admirable effort in the sense of principle, perhaps setting an example for his younger teammates. Lakers director of player development Larry Lewis was inspired to step out from behind the bench and thank Bryant for the try, appreciating that he didn’t have to do it.

Well, sometimes he shouldn’t do it—no matter the excessive demands Scott placed on him.

This is what Bryant, 36, said before the season about being careful in his comeback:

“In the past, I’ve always pushed myself to the limit. That’s every day. Now I’ve just got to be a little bit more patient and make sure when you step off the court you still have something there.”

That’s philosophy. What Bryant felt after that Indiana game was real life.

The Lakers had two days off. Then a feeble Bryant played half-speed and missed a buzzer-beater in a 104-103 home loss to Oklahoma City on Dec. 19. Without much recovery time Sunday afternoon in Sacramento, Bryant played wildly and poorly in an 8-of-30 shooting outing and 108-101 Lakers loss, as he tried to live up to his legend that has so often graced the old Arco Arena.

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Bryant hasn’t played since.

“When I have a couple days, what happens is the body realizes how messed up it is,” Bryant said. “So everything else starts hurting.”

Bryant cited current problems with his knees, Achilles tendons and back. He put them all under the umbrella of “old age” that required physical therapist Judy Seto to work on him, “taking care of every part of my body,” for an hour-and-a-half Thursday to limited benefit.

Steve Nash is the obvious example of how precarious health is at this point in a long career. Nash, who went from optimistic and healthy to out for the season/career in almost a blink before this year, showed up at the airport Wednesday when the Lakers were leaving—his first time back at a team function—to wish the guys merry Christmas.

Still, Bryant’s belief is that he can recharge the old batteries.

“I’ll get back to being healthy like I was at the start of the season,” he said.

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

From there, Scott promises to drop Bryant’s 35 minutes per game down to 32 or 33. But Bryant is thinking about changes in quality beyond the quantity.

He prides himself on his learning, and it has sunk in now:

He can’t do all that Scott has wanted.

He can’t be what he once was.

“It’s habit for me to move around and be active offensively, all over the place from different spots on the floor,” Bryant said. “I don’t think my body can hold up to that. …A lot of that is breaking habits, because you’re used to playing a certain way for so long.”

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is a believer in Bryant’s will—but also his ability to adjust.

Thibodeau, remember, scored his titanic victory as Boston Celtics defensive coordinator by beating Bryant in the 2008 NBA Finals—before losing to him in 2010.

“He’s always found a way,” Thibodeau said. “He’ll figure it out.”

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.