Will Kobe Bryant Play Friday Against Suns?

After Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will only have 13 games with Kobe Bryant still on the roster.

However, Bryant remains officially listed as "questionable" for Friday's game. If one was making guesses, the 20-year veteran playing against Phoenix on Friday night is more unlikely than likely despite his coach's "50-50" claims.

Back when Bryant had 20 games on the calendar, NBCLA.com listed the 12 games that meant that slight bit more to the 5-time champion. Six games later, Bryant played in the three games NBCLA.com picked out and sat out the three games NBCLA.com didn't list. Friday night's game against Phoenix did not make the list as a meaningful meeting, since the Lakers play the Suns in Phoenix only five days after Friday's contest.

Injured or not, Bryant finds ways to play on the road.

Bryant's right shoulder, which went under the knife in 2015, has been bothering the superstar at the tail-end of his 20-year career. Nearing retirement, Bryant shared that his goal was to play as often as possible without pushing his body to the point where he required surgery after the season—or worse, during the season.

The goal is to get Bryant to the finish line, and along the way, the hope is that Bryant conjures moments of magic and ignites the crowd. Wins don't matter anymore. With the Lakers sitting on 14 wins with 14 contests remaining in an 82-game season, Bryant is inching his way to the end without any pressure to perform for a playoff push. Losing technically helps the Lakers in the NBA Draft Lottery, so losing could even be perceived as winning at this stage.

For a player that appeared indestructible as he played through a plethora of injuries over his two-decade long career, Bryant relentlessness and disregard for physical limitations appear to have caught up to him. In his final outing in Denver, Bryant explained that his shoulder would not nixed him on any other night, but Bryant managed 11 minutes in Colorado to provide fans a one final cameo appearance.

Of the remaining 14 games, six contests come on the road, so Bryant should play in all of those. As a note, one of those road games is against the Clippers, so Bryant may well opt to sit that game out and play on the second night of the back-to-back against the Clippers with a Lakers' crowd instead, but the other five road games would expect to feature Bryant dressed in a uniform.

If Bryant sticks to the format of only playing games with greater meaning for the reminder of the season, the 20-year pro likely turns up for a final duel against Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat on Mar. 30. Add in a final game against the hated rival Boston Celtics on Apr. 3 because Bryant would have a tough time resisting the opportunity to play one final rivalry game. Then, only the final farewell game against Utah figures to feature Bryant wearing an NBA uniform and performing his special tricks on the Staples Center hardwood.

And that's all, folks.

Friday night against Phoenix, though, does not fit the criteria that would push the 37-year-old into the starting lineup, as he struggles to keep his shoulder intact for the final month of his 20-year NBA career.

With or without Bryant in the lineup, the Lakers and Suns start their Friday night festivities at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time.