How Kobe Bryant’s injury could impact NBA free agency
The Los Angeles Daily News reported Thursday that Bryant is still a few weeks away from running 100 percent on his own. He was injured in April and recovery can take six to nine months. Bryant’s rehab involves running at 75% of his body weight on a treadmill. Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti said Bryant is still a few weeks away from full-weight bearing running. The Lakers start training camp Sept. 29. It is not clear if Bryant will play at all in the preseason.
Normally, Boston vs. LA generates an edginess (and bitterness) that stokes the fires of this long-time rivalry, and usually Kobe revels in the misfortunes of the men in green. But Bryant takes no pleasure in the torn ACL suffered by Rajon Rondo or the uncertainty surrounding the futures of two of his most ardent foes, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett . [+] Enlarge Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images Kobe Bryant says he’s sorry the Celtics are without Rajon Rondo and scoffs at the idea that the point guard’s absence makes Boston better. “I’m not happy about what’s happening to them,” Bryant said. “We’re all running out of time. So I understand.” In a lengthy, wide-ranging exclusive interview at the Lakers’ team hotel in Boston, Kobe touched on trash-talking with Pierce, his admiration for Rondo’s game, his predraft visit with the Celtics 17 years ago and his budding friendships with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and tight end Rob Gronkowski . Bryant was eager to weigh in on the notion that the Celtics actually might be better off with Rondo shelved for the remainder of the season.
Ambassador Kobe Heads To Dubai
The trip comes as Bryant continues to rehab from Achilles surgery and just days before his Los Angeles Lakers open training camp. In a phone interview with a reporter from the Gulf News, the regions leading English-language newspaper, Bryant reiterated that his rehab remains ahead of schedule but that he cant be certain hell be ready for the regular-season opener on Oct. 29: Im feeling pretty good. Im a lot stronger now than probably what I was a week ago. Im getting stronger and stronger by the day and thats a great feeling. Im ahead of my schedule, and when the season comes around we will know where we are. I dont know whether that means I will start the season. I hope so. Bryant is just one of the worlds great athletes to visit the Middle East, joining the likes ofMuhammad Ali,Pele,Tiger WoodsandRoger Federer. It means a lot to me.
Kobe Bryant injury: Lakers star ‘weeks away’ from running
[Howard] has his way of leading that he feels like would be most effective and would work for him, and obviously the way we’ve gone about it with this organization and the leaders that we’ve had — myself, Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] — we’ve done it a different way. — Kobe Bryant on Dwight Howard “I haven’t followed enough to hear what he’s kind of said about going to Houston and some of the reasons why he went to Houston,” Bryant said Wednesday at his annual youth basketball academy on the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara. “I don’t know. I don’t. You look at me, you really think once a guy decides to go someplace else, I’m going to waste my time trying to figure out why that happened?” It was more of a shrug than a silver-tongued reaction from Bryant. If Howard wanted to be a Rocket, so be it. “I’m happy for him,” Bryant said, without a hint of his usual sarcasm. “I’ve said that before.
Report: Kobe Bryant Running at 75 Percent of Body Weight, ‘Few Weeks Away’ From Full Running
Kobe Bryant injury: Lakers star ‘weeks away’ from running Gear Up! Jason Patt, SBNation Posted: Friday, September 20, 2013, 10:11 AM More: Lakers coverage at Silver Screen and Roll Medina spoke with Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti on Thursday. Vitti said there have been no setbacks, but Bryant’s return date is still up in the air: “He’s doing well and has had no setbacks,” Vitti said Thursday at his trainer’s office at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo in a wide-ranging interview with this newspaper. “He’ll be ready when he’s ready. Nobody has a crystal ball on this thing.” Bryant’s current rehab step involves running at 75 percent of his body weight on a treadmill. The next step involves full-weight bearing running, with on-court basketball activities following after that. Vitti gave no exact timetable for how long each step will take, but he won’t rule Bryant out of the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 29. In addition to rehabbing Bryant’s Achilles, Vitti and the rest of the Lakers’ training staff have also made sure to focus on building strength in other key areas: “He doesn’t have injuries in the rest of his body,” Vitti said of Bryant.
Kobe Bryant dishes on Celtics
Kobe is Kobe,” wrote another from the East. “My guess is he comes back stronger than ever,” said another from the East. “He’ll still be Kobe, but it might take a month or two into the season for him to get back to a similar level. I would never bet against him…He’ll probably still play at almost the same level,” a Western Conference front-office head surmised. There was, however, a healthy dose of justified skepticism too “I wouldn’t bet against him, but the odds and the history of others suffering the same injury in their 30s are against him,” said a Western Conference GM. “Even without the injury, he will be on a normal aging curve where he unlikely returns to previous levels,” said another from the West. So it’s a mixed bag, enough so that I decided to keep the sample size small.
Kobe Bryant: I’m happy for Dwight
Bryant is bearing 75 percent of his body weight on one of the Lakers space-aged treadmills and is just a few weeks away from full weight-bearing running, according to a Los Angeles Daily News report. The Lakers have been conservative, while Bryant has been characteristically aggressive, which probably means his treatment overall has been a happy medium between the two. Hes doing well and has had no setbacks, Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti said. Hell be ready when hes ready. Nobody has a crystal ball on this thing. Bryant has to first get to full weight-bearing running before he can begin work on the court, Vitti told the Daily NewsMark Medina. The Lakers open their season Oct. 29 against the Clippers. Scoreboard
Kobe Bryant in Dubai: ‘Title number six will be good’
I am already doing clinics at various levels with kids here in the US. So at the moment I am happy to be doing what I am doing. The main thing is to get the kids interested in what they are doing so that they can lead a healthy lifestyle for a bright future. Would you consider coaching a team here in the Middle East if the opportunity comes by? The first things kids need to do is really and genuinely love the game. Basketball is a passion for me and it needs to be a passion for them as well. They need to enjoy what they are doing. Youve had injuries in the past and yet youve played through them.
Kobe Bryant is the most common favorite player of incoming NBA rookies
It stands to reason that, even if many players were on the anti-Kobe side, enough would love him that he would win this award until he retires. When LeBron is 35, we would expect him to cast the same sort of shadow over a generation of players. This vote is a testament to Kobe’s impact, as well as a useful reminder of the sheer force of his accomplishments. Seventeen years after his arrival in the league, Kobe is still relevant enough to top a list of favorite players. No matter what, he keeps himself on people’s minds. Oh, and nabbing that No. 1 spot can’t only be a matter of being in the league for a long time. If that were the case, Vince Carter wouldn’t have been another receiving votes. Sports & Recreation Jon Jones was forced to overcome his toughest ever test in the Octagon to retain his UFC light heavyweight title with an unanimous decision over Alexander Gustafsson in the main event at UFC 165 on Saturday night in Toronto.
Kobe Bryant tears Achilles, sidelined for months
Maybe Father Time has defeated me.” Later, Bryant called the injury the first step in a new challenge. “One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day,” he wrote. The post received more than 136,000 likes. According to an earlier tweet from the Lakers, Bryant could tell what the injury was before seeing a doctor. “I was just hoping it wasn’t what I thought it was,” Bryant said, according to the tweet. The Lakers have two games left in the regular season, both at home. They face the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
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