Los Angeles Lakers: Top 5 injuries Kobe Bryant played through

1. 2010: Broken index finger

The injury took place in Dec. 2009 when Kobe suffered an avulsion fracture in two places near the tip of the finger, which requires a six-week time to heal for the finger to reach 100 percent again.

As you can imagine, Kobe passed on surgery. But, he was told the bone fragments could heal while he played. Although, he could only play if he endured brutal treatments to minimize swelling in the finger.

Kobe would end the season as the fifth highest scorer in the NBA, powering the Lakers forward to the NBA Finals, where they got redemption against the Celtics in seven games. This was the end result of Kobe delaying surgery:

The middle knuckle on that critical finger on Bryant’s shooting hand is so debilitated by arthritis after the past season of misuse and overuse that there may be no real way to fix it. Bryant will consult with specialists in July to figure out his options, but arthritis is not a problem that can just be cleaned up with arthroscopic surgery or wished away with a little rest.

This would be the last time we saw Kobe in the NBA finals, and he gave us everything that he had to get us there. There are dozens of other injuries Kobe suffered during his tenure in Los Angeles, and every single drop of blood and injury is appreciated from all of us in LakerLand.