Kobe Bryant: Still Old
Kobe Bryant is old.
This certainly isn’t news or anything that Lakers fans need to be told at this point, but it’s something that was banged home after Kobe Bryant received a DNP due to an Achilles strain. 37 years old isn’t terribly advanced in age in terms as a whole, but in terms of an NBA player who has been playing in the league since graduating high school, he’s a fossil and that he can still contribute at all is remarkable.
However, the fact that he drew the DNP on Sunday night for an injury that was not the sore shoulder that landed him on the injury report only furthers the point that this isn’t the same Kobe that used to be able to power through any pain—even if that mentality is still there for the Black Mamba, the physical ability to do that type of thing has long since left Kobe’s body.
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Make no mistake; this is not to disparage Kobe by any stretch of the imagination. Again, that he’s able to play at the level that he has as of late when he’s been on the floor after all the miles that he’s put on his body is incredible. However, the Lakers legend isn’t completely whole at this point in his career. And his DNP against the Jazz was a sad reminder of that for fans.