Kobe Bryant Injury Update: Lakers Expect Star to Be Ready for Training Camp
For the third straight season, Kobe Bryant will enter Los Angeles Lakers training camp coming off a season-ending injury. For the third straight season, general manager Mitch Kupchak expects his aging star to be champing at the bit when he returns to the floor.
"My understanding is that he'll be ready for camp," Kupchak said, per Sam Amick of USA Today. "Knowing Kobe, he will try to participate in every practice in camp. But myself and [head coach] Byron [Scott] are going to have something to say about that. So I'm sure there will be a practice or two or three where we won't let him practice, but I do expect him to be full bore at camp."
Bryant, 37, was limited to 35 games last season after suffering a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. The injury was expected to keep him out of action for nine months, which made him likely for the regular-season opener but questionable for training camp. Kupchak indicated Bryant is at least slightly ahead in his rehab schedule—no surprise given all that he has riding on the campaign.
Since suffering a ruptured Achilles at the end of the 2012-13 season, Bryant has appeared in only 41 games. He averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game in 2014-15 but shot 37.3 percent and was a noticeable minus on both ends of the floor at times. Los Angeles was actually 6.8 points per 100 possessions better with Bryant on the bench, per Basketball-Reference.com.
While Lakers fans tend to be more optimistic than most about Bryant, even the most diehard backers have begun acknowledging the franchise won't take its next step until after the post-Kobe era. It's not that he's an ineffective player at all times—it's just that his usage rate deviates from his efficiency to the point it detracts from other players.
Bryant is entering the last year of his $48.5 million extension and perhaps the last season of his career. Anyone who appreciates basketball wants to see Bryant, arguably the second-best shooting guard in NBA history, go out on the court rather than on a trainer's table—even if he's a shell of his former self.
At the very least, Bryant will be ready for the beginning of the season. Fingers crossed that he can buck recent history and stay on the court.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
