Kobe Bryant's 48-Point Outburst Proves That He's Far from Washed Up

We've heard a lot about the Lakers and Kobe Bryant so far this season.

Mostly due to the fact that everyone is quick to write Bryant off so fast. Everyone seems so quick to say that Bryant's career is winding down, but in reality he's having a great start to the 2012 season.

We've heard it all.

Everything from Bryant is done to he should defer to Andrew Bynum.

Everything from he's shooting too much to he should demand a trade.

What we haven't heard though is that Bryant is far from being washed up.

We haven't heard that, but Bryant did make that statement last night with a 48-point outburst that firmly says he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Why should he?

He's playing at as high of a level as anyone in the game right now.

He's scoring at a 29.5 point-per-game clip that's second to only LeBron James (29.7).

Despite the changes in the offseason that he wasn't fond of, the Lakers are winning. A 7-4 start to the season could be better, but they've been pretty good considering they are adjusting to a new system for the first time in a very long time.

There are some parts to Bryant's game that aren't as good as usual, mainly his three-point shooting, but overall his game looks as good as ever.

It's not supposed to be that way during your 16th season in the league.

So while many people would like to write Bryant off and pass the torch to a new generation, remember this.

Bryant isn't done yet. Far from it.