The Lakers are on a three game winning streak, which is rare. The last three seasons in Laker land have been filled with turmoil, doubt and agony. Things have gotten so bad that Laker fans would rather have their team lose, in order to improve their draft position.
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It all started going down hill when the Lakers played the Golden State Warriors on April 12, 2013. The Lakers were fighting to make the playoffs after a rough start to the season. The Warriors got up to a big lead, but Kobe Bryant was being himself and led the furious comeback.
Bryant was looking to tie the game and drove left past Harrison Barnes, but he didn’t get very far. Bryant went down and he began to clutch the back of his foot. At the time fans were left guessing, but ultimately it was everyone’s worst nightmare, a torn Achilles.
Bryant was 34 at the time and he knew the Achilles injury would be difficult to overcome. In Showtime’s Kobe Bryant’s Muse, Bryant admitted that he thought the injury could be the end of his career:
#Kobe on his Achilles injury - "I remember feeling the silence. Feeling the fear. 35 years old. This could be a wrap." #Muse
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) March 1, 2015
Bryant is known as a relentless competitor and if anybody was going to come back from this, it would be Bryant. However, we tend to forget he’s human. Bryant was realistic and he understood that at his age with this type of injury, his career could be over.
Obviously it’s normal to have so many emotions after such a catastrophic injury. The Black Mamba was able to come back, but he’s had trouble staying on the floor. His work ethic allows him to return from injury, but they just keep piling up.
Bryant has one more year left on his contract and that could be the last of his career. Bryant deserves to end on his own terms and while he can’t defeat Father Time, he’s going to stall as much as he can.