With training camps opening today and throughout next week, it is a friendly and welcome reminder that the 2014-2015 NBA season is rapidly approaching. Like every other season in virtually every other sport, this also marks the return of various players from injuries, or players on new teams.
There are certainly very high expectations for teams like Cleveland with their new additions of LeBron James and Kevin Love, and Chicago, with the addition of Pau Gasol, and the much anticipated return of former-MVP Derrick Rose. For the Los Angeles Lakers, the bulk of the media attention will be on the return of franchise corner-stone Kobe Bryant, returning after nearly 18 months off the court.
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The difference between the Lakers and the above mentioned teams, is that the Lakers are not considered nor expected to be championship contenders, and while the Cavs and Bulls are welcoming back players in the primes of their careers, the Lakers are banking on a 36 year old coming off an Achilles injury and knee tear.
The questions surrounding the Lakers as training camp opens is not how far they can go in the deep and ultra-competitive western conference, but just how much Bryant will have left in the tank, and how productive he will be coming back from his rehab. While Bryant has played his entire 18 year career through a multitude of injuries, he has never been away from the court for this long.
Realistically he should be refreshed, and if healthy, always dangerous. Before he tore his Achilles at the end of the 2012-2013 season, he was leading the league in minutes and scoring at the ripe old rage of 34, which lead many to question his basketball mortality.
Anyone who knows Bryant knows how competitive he is, and to stand by the sidelines since he was hurt, watching his team struggle every night and unable to help them at all, obviously tore him up inside, and I have no doubt he is absolutely salivating to get back out there.
While most will question and doubt how productive he can be, if history has shown us anything, it is that he is beyond determined to prove his haters wrong. One good sign are the early reports from practice and pick-up games of how good Bryant does indeed look playing again.
Obviously when he comes back, he will be a different player, more adjusted to his age and time away, and we will likely see a respectable and needed decline in minutes played. But we will also see the return of one of the greatest to ever don the purple and gold, and watch as Bryant once again sets out to prove why you should never bet against him.