2014 NBA Top 20: #8 Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers poses for a picture during media day at Toyota Sports Center on September 28, 2013 in El Segundo, California. (Getty Images)

17 years in the game, 5 NBA Championships, numerous league honours and overwhelming records. The Black Mamba has truly established himself as one of the greatest players to ever step out on the wood, and quite possibly the most skilled and watchable player to ever grace the league.

Kobe Bryant has gone through several gargantuan personal and professional battles during his time in the NBA, and at this stage of his legendary career, one would expect the struggles and the challenges to be kinder.

Reality check: The Black Mamba quite possibly looks ahead to what may be the most challenging campaign of his career. Following Dwight Howard’s decision to leave Los Angeles, and looking at the new recruits like Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Chris Kaman, the Lakers roster is too thin and bereft of genuine star-power.

A 34-year old Pau Gasol and a 39-year old Steve Nash are maybe the saving grace of the second most successful franchise in NBA history. Add to that the insistence of Mike D’Antoni to deploy his system and get the veteran old legs of the Lakers to play his run-and-gun method, while paying little heed to defence and the Lakers physical limitations, you have a recipe for a total disaster.

Many believe that the Lakers will actually do as bad as 12^th in the West. They assume it may be in the Lakers best interest to tank 2013-14, so as to try and get lucky in the draft of 2014. The Lakers also have sizeable cap-space in 2014 and with the number of big stars set to enter into the free-agent market, it just seems that Jim Buss led Lakers are looking to shape their roster for the next decade and this year is just a faux pas.

While all of the Lakers plans for 2014 may seem intriguing, one tends to forget that this is still the Black Mamba’s team; the man who at age 34 has adopted the new nickname of Vino, because like wine he believes he is just getting better with age.

27.3 ppg, 6.0 apg, 5.6 rpg, 1.4 spg, while shooting 46.3 % from the field. He was the provider and the facilitator on the offensive end, trying his best to get his teammates into the game and on the defensive end of the floor had to guard the likes of Kyrie Irving and Brandon Jennings, because Nash at age 39 just didn’t have the legs to keep up with the quicker and explosive young guards in the game.

At 34, he was by and far the best athlete in the Lakers team, and it was his insurmountable will and desire that saw the Lakers make the decisive push to earn a play-off spot. D’Antoni did run him to the ground by playing him an astounding 38.6 minutes/game and a stretch before his Achilles injury when he almost averaged close to 45 minutes/game.

Bryant did believe that he was conditioned for that kind of a work-load, but in a league where the likes of Gregg Popovich were sagacious enough to limit his 30-year and above stars to less than 32-minutes/game, D’Antoni was more than happy to ride on Bryant’s back and let him make the asinine sacrifices to get the Lakers into the pay-offs. In many ways, Bryant did save D’Antoni’s job and directed a lot of hatred away from the Lakers Organization and Jim Buss.

But this season will be different. Bryant has still a lot of Lakers expectations to stand up to, but for once it is his body and its needs that stand in the way. He is coming back from a career-threatening injury way ahead of schedule. Buss believes Bryant can make it to opening night. That makes it a rehabilitation of close to four and a half months for an injury that many doctors and physicians believe needs close to 8-9 months to fully recover.

Steve Nash #10, Kobe Bryant #24 and Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers pose for a picture during media day at Toyota Sports Center on September 28, 2013 in El Segundo, California. (Getty Images)

Now, Bryant is no ordinary athlete and has made a career out of jumping rehabilitation schedules and playing through injuries. All that was okay when he was in his 20’s or in his early 30’s, but at this juncture of his career, it is of paramount importance that he puts his body over the needs of his team and the franchise.

After his injury, Bryant had stated, “I was really tired, man. I was just tired in the locker room. Upset and dejected and thinking about this mountain I have to overcome. This is a long process. I wasn’t sure I could do it. But then the kids walked in here, and I had to set an example. ‘Daddy’s going to be fine. I’m going to do it.’ I’m going to work hard and go from there. It’s fuelling me. I can feel it already. Players at this stage of their careers and then they pop their Achilles and they say they’re never going to come back the same. I can hear it already. It’s pissing me off right now.”

Will Bryant do everything possible to get back in prime playing condition? Yes. He takes it as a challenge to defy the savants who believe that there is no way that one can come out of an Achilles injury and again get back to elite levels. Barring Dominique Wilkins and Tiny Archibald, maybe no NBA player has had a successful return from this injury. The doubts are massive and Bryant seems to take it on himself to dispel all such myths.

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise. If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear. I’ve always loved that quote. That’s “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, and we don’t run. We endure and conquer.”

By his own admission he still needs close to three weeks of intense work-out to get back into playing shape. He has now been cleared to start running and now the beast in Bryant has been unleashed. How well does he do when he does grace the court again is for everyone to see and judge?

But for sure, Bryant isn’t someone who is going to complain about his body affecting his performances and he for sure isn’t going to linger on and wait for the perfect time to get back. He is a warrior and as soon as he believes he is in a state to play through any pain and still be effective, he is going to play through everything in his way.

There will be no excuses made and no passes taken. He may not be the same Kobe that could blow by defenders and had the hops to dunk over 7-footers, but for sure he will try, and try till he doesn’t die trying. As Nike put it in their Kobe campaign:

“You showed us that an 18-year-old could play with the best.

You showed us that a championship game, an exhibition game, and a charity event are all must-wins.

You showed us how to play chess while others played checkers.

You showed us how to hit game-winner after game-winner.

You showed us that an 81-point game is a real thing.

You showed us that gold still matters.

You showed us how to take an ice bath.

You showed us how to score 30 points in a quarter, twice.

You showed us the Mamba Face.

You showed us how to demand perfection and demand it from everyone.

You showed us how to put big-boy pants on.

You showed us that you were never out of it, ever.

You showed us how inspirational a pair of free throws could be.

Now, show us again.”

Yes, Kobe show us again.