Kobe Bryant Reportedly Ahead of Rehab Schedule, but Not Actually by 3 Months

Even Kobe Bryant's injuries are punctual.

Per Drew Garrison of SB Nation (h/t Lakers Nation), the Black Mamba apparently told Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers' Summer League team, he is three months ahead of his rehabilitation schedule after tearing his Achilles in April.

UPDATE: Wednesday, July 17, at 12:35 a.m. ET by Zach Buckley

Even Kobe Bryant needs sufficient time to heal.

Mike Trudell of Lakers.com reports that Chris Douglas-Roberts said he was only kidding when he said that Bryant was so far ahead of his rehab schedule. "Kobe told me he was ahead of schedule and I jokingly said he's probably three months ahead because that's very Kobe-like," Douglas-Roberts said.

Trudell, hoping to limit the far-reaching effects of Douglas-Roberts' quip, then forwarded the clarification on to other hoops scribes.

Douglas-Roberts will have to learn soon, if he hasn't already, that very little gets lost under the bright lights of L.A. 

--End of update--

"He told me he’s three months ahead of schedule, which is very Kobe-like,” Douglas-Roberts told reporters.

Don't bother feigning surprise. We all expected something like this to happen.

Kobe made the move to the NBA out of high school and hasn't been a day late or jump shot short for almost two decades since then.

Being the ever-diligent competitive psycho that Kobe is, we had to believe he was going to make every effort to push the timetable of his comeback.

Some scoffed at his plan to return in time for the start of the 2013-14 regular season. Not even the Mamba could break the limits Father Time would impose on him. Opening day? Please. That wasn't going to happen.

Only it will. It might.

If Douglas-Roberts is on point, Kobe could be in uniform in time for the start of next season. Lost on no one is how much that would mean to the Lakers, who have lost both Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace since the 2012-13 campaign concluded.

Watching Kobe go down against the Golden State Warriors was jarring. Seeing him suit up, ready to go for the Lakers on opening day—and before almost anyone believed he could—would be equally as chilling...but in a good way.

"It's about taking on the challenge, you know, and then everything else that goes on around you are all peripheral opponents," Kobe told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com back in June. "But the challenge starts within."

With no plans to retire anytime soon, this wasn't the beginning of the end for the future Hall of Famer. Doubting that he would test the boundaries of his personal well-being, like he has for the last 17 years, now seems insane.

There's no reason to question his resolve, even if common logic dictates we do so. He's proven so many of us wrong so many times before. It's time to just accept that he has no limits and that his perseverance knows no bounds.

Kobe is on his way back, set to best his latest obstacle much sooner than anticipated. And we believe it, even if it doesn't make sense, because he's Kobe. 

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