If the Lakers make it to the playoffs, it will be without Kobe Bryant. Bryant tore his Achilles tendon during the April 12 game against the Golden State Warriors and experts say his injury will put him out of physical activity for the next six to nine months.
“I made a move that I’ve made a million times, and it just popped,” Bryant told reporters after the game.
Lakers trainer Gary Vitti hopes that Bryant will be recovered in time for the 2013-2014 season and dismissed claims that the injury was a direct result of excessive playing time.
“Some of it’s just bad luck,” Vitti tweeted Saturday, April 13. “To say he was injured because he played 48 mins is a stretch.”
Injuries of such severe degree can be fatal to professional athletes’ careers. Yet Bryant’s teammates and coaches say the star is determined to recover from what experts have deemed the worst injury of his 17-year NBA career.
“He’s the greatest competitor, and he’s been that all season long, all through his career,” Lakers teammate Pau Gasol told reporters after the game. “He’s been an example for us throughout all this. He showed character. He showed heart, and that’s what we’re going to need from now on.”
“Why the hell did this happen?!?” Bryant posted on Facebook the morning following his injury. “Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me… Then again maybe not! One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence.”
Lakers fans united in their support for the team star as he underwent surgery following an MRI scan on Saturday, April 13. Irvine High School student Kiana Nguyen said Bryant’s latest injury will not hinder her support for him “at all.”
“He’s used to these injuries and he’ll recover from it just like he always has previously,” Nguyen said. “This injury will only strengthen him as well as my avid support for him. I was his fan from the beginning, and I’ll be his fan until the end.”
As for now, the Lakers will continue without Bryant. With one game to go, the team is battling with the Utah Jazz for a spot in the playoffs. If they win tonight against the Houston Rockets – or if Utah loses to the Minnesota Timberwolves – they’ll enter the tournament as either the seventh or eighth seed in the Western Conference.
