"It's not like I was playing too many minutes or whatever the case it may be. The shoulder injury has been there for a long long time. It's tough to gauge," Kobe Bryant sat at a podium facing the LA media for the first time since an examination revealed a torn rotator cuff. There, Bryant's season ended.
He had gone on a movie promotion tour and met with media outlets, but he had generally stayed away from the local LA media that he knew far too well. With Lakers coach Byron Scott summoning the injured superstar to all remaining home games, Bryant chose to have a chat.
So, going back for a moment, how long ago exactly did Bryant hurt his shoulder?
"Judging by the pain, I've had that same pain in my shoulder since 2001," Bryant answered the question. "It's been there for a while. I went in and had a procedure on my shoulder in 2002 and 2003, and it's been bothering me for a long long time."
According to Bryant, he believes he had a torn rotator cuff on Jan. 22, 2006. That night, Bryant scored 81 points, apparently, with a bum shoulder. While the thought may sound unreasonable at first, considering Bryant played seasons (plural) with a broken finger points to the type of mind over matter mentality the five-time champion played with for the majority of his embattled career. That type of repeated physical pressure forced the 36-year-old to finish the last three seasons of his career prematurely.
"I can play 10 minutes and hurt some other sh--," Bryant laughed at how brittle his career had become. "At this stage, all I can do is do whatever I can to be as healthy as possible. If something is going to go, it goes. Then Father Time got me. There's nothing else I can do about it."
Notoriously known for being a control freak, Bryant had not entirely given up the steering wheel. He may have accepted destiny, but he surely didn't sound like he was welcoming it. Over three seasons, he had been hit with three major unforeseen injuries. If the trend continued and a fourth one struck, his career would likely be over. The naysayers would have been right.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
"It's very difficult," Bryant continued. "You start trying to gauge the importance of a Monday workout or Wednesday workout. How important is it? I could do all this stuff and then next year in one minute, it's all gone. Those are the challenges I have to struggle with mentally and not try to over think that. Just go out there and do it."
Then, Bryant repeated the mantra that served as a guide in these past few years of injury and bad luck: "Just control what you can control."
