Kobe Bryant: Alex Rodriguez Says Knee Pain Nearly Forced Legend's Retirement

We all knew about Kobe Bryant's wrist problems coming into this season, but it turns out his knee was a much bigger problem before the games started.

According to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who has battled problems in the lower half of his body, Bryant's knee problems were so severe that he considered retiring after the Los Angeles Lakers lost in the playoffs last year.

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Bryant "was really adamant about how great the procedure was for him," Rodriguez told reporters. "I know that he was hurting before, almost even thinking about retirement, that's how much pain he was under. And then he said after he went to Germany he felt like a 27-year-old again. I was still a little apprehensive about it and he kept staying on me about it."

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Rodriguez underwent the same procedure that Bryant did in the offseason to help with his leg problems. He needed to be talked into trying this doctor, which is what led to Bryant bringing up this procedure that helped him get back to his old self. 

For Bryant, to hear that he has thought about retirement has to be a wake-up call for him and the Lakers. Their future is as up in the air as Black Mamba's was this offseason. 

With this team built to win now, it is imperative that the front office does whatever it can to surround Bryant with players who can help get them back to the NBA Finals. 

Bryant is just 33 years old and will do anything he physically can to get this team to make another deep postseason run. 

His knees don't seem to causing him any problems this year, as evidenced by the 28.4 points per game he is averaging. It is interesting that his shooting percentage has dropped to 43.5, but that could be a product of teams being able to line up against him since the Lakers have no depth. 

The important thing is, Black Mamba is healthy and doing what he can to help the Lakers win. But the future without him is approaching sooner than the Lakers would like to think. 

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