After the team's first practice, the Los Angeles Lakers saw a healthy Kobe Bryant who was ready to lead the purple and gold jerseys again this coming season after coming off a series of surgeries to repair injuries he suffered in his knee and a ruptured ACL. In fact, Bryant moved so well and was so good in practice that general manager Mitch Kupchak was confident that he would enter the season as the Laker's best player after playing just six games last season.
"Kobe, I've watched throughout the summer. I've been going to watch him work out down in Orange County, and he's been up here several times per Travelers Today," Kupchak told the press via Lakersholics. "He looks really good, says he feels great. No ill effects on either injury.
Bryant was also pleased with the Lakers first practice revealing that the drills will establish the team in a comfortable position to be competetive in the 2014-15 season simply because the practice focused heavily on defense and conditioning.
But despite all of Bryant's greatness and legendary will to succeed, he is already 36 years old and has 19 season's of NBA miles behind his legs - not to mention the wear and tear effect of numerous playoff battles. But after the Lakers first practice, head coach Byron Scott was confident that Bryant still has a lot left in him and says that "He's a guy who's still going to average probably 23-24 points per game." per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Heck even Kupchak believes that Bryant can still score 30 or 35 when the team needs him too.
But overcoming Father Time is not new in the NBA. According to Pro Basketball talks, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 23.4 points per game at 38, and Karl Malone scored 25.5 at 36 and 23.2 at 37. But its an extremely rare feat but not an impossible one especially for a player like Kobe Bryant.
And after seeing his long time side kick Pau Gasol walk away in free agency to the Chicago Bulls, Bryant will surely need every ounce of basketball greatness left in his battle-tested body if he wants the Lakers to remain competitive in the extremely stacked and brutal Western Conference.
Join the Conversation