Some people, including Lakers legend Magic Johnson, have said that Kobe Bryant should shut things down for the remainder of the season given his injuries, health, and the Lakers’ position at this stage of the year. However, the Black Mamba told reporters today, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter), that he has no plans of spending the rest of the year on the sidelines.
Bryant said that he will be reevaluated in February and could be back on the hardwood if he gets the greenlight from doctors at that point, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. The Lakers could drift well below the .500 mark between now and then but Bryant says that “his job” is to play, period, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
Bryant and the Lakers agreed to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in November.
I could never imagine a competitor like Kobe sitting out the rest of the season, unlike Rose.