Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant will miss Tuesday's game against the Brooklyn Nets due to a sore shoulder, though he will travel with the team to Denver for Wednesday night's game against the Nuggets.
Kobe Bryant won't play tonight but will travel for tomorrow's game in Denver — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 1, 2016
Tuesday night will mark the 12th game the 37-year-old has missed in his final season in the NBA. Notably, Bryant has been prone to missing games at home over games on the road. Prior to Tuesday night, the last seven games Bryant has missed all took place at Staples Center, one of which was an away game against the LA Clippers. Bryant and the Lakers are scheduled to play the Clippers twice more before the season concludes, so sitting out against the city rival in late January was understandable.
Byron on Kobe: “Tonight we’re going to sit him down but he’s definitely going on the trip to Denver and he wants to play in Denver." — Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 1, 2016
Wednesday night's game, however, provides a poignant final game in the mile-high city, where Bryant has been vilified ever since his 2003 sexual assault charge in Eagle, Colorado. The 20-year professional's final game in Colorado, understandably, carries with it greater meaning than a final game against the Brooklyn Nets.
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Byron on Kobe's sore right shoulder: "It’s still a little sore so we just wanted to give him one more day off. He didn’t complain about it." — Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 1, 2016
With 15 of the Lakers' final 20 games coming at Staples Center, any games Bryant sits out for the remainder of the season expect to come at home.
