Kobe Bryant has remained relatively quiet about his rehab since he was given the all clear by doctors. Rather coincidentally, both ESPN and NBA.com released rankings that were none too fond of Bryant. ESPN’s #NBARank listed him the 25th best player, which Bryant noticed.
Kobe on his ESPN #NBArank: "Twenty-five was pretty silly. It was pretty laughable. But still in all, it’s a challenge I willingly accept"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 24, 2013
Don’t think Bryant isn’t watching. He even called McMenamin out personally for an article he wrote saying the ranking was “fair.” He also saw the GM survey that listed him the 2nd best shooting guard behind James Harden.
Kobe on GM poll ranking him 2nd best SG behind Harden: "They’re counting on me being on one leg ...They think I can’t come back from this "
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 24, 2013
In terms of rehab, Bryant said he scaled back from what fans while he was China, which he admits was a bit overboard.
Kobe: "I was cranking it up in China ... I've scaled back since" He says he is fighting impatience as he pushes to come back
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 24, 2013
Bryant is still undetermined about his return for opening night on Tuesday. Based on his comments, it’d be surprising to see Bryant play the first game, but we know not to count out the Black Mamba