Friday, January 7th, 2011 at 3:05 pm  |  71 responses

Kobe Bryant’s Right Knee Is ‘Almost Bone on Bone’

With the condition his body has been in over the last few years, the fact that Bryant can walk straight, let alone play at a superhuman level, is simply incredible. The NY Post has the latest: “Kobe appeared to know exactly what was ailing his two-time defending team. Minutes after being manhandled by the Heat, he pronounced he was going to ‘kick [butt] at practice … and beat it into their heads. It was time to get the team focused.’ Which brings us to the crux of my inquiry. How did Kobe propose to pull that off, a Lakers’ legionnaire wondered, ‘when he hasn’t practiced the whole season (something no member of LA’s press has called him out on)?” Is that true, I asked Kobe? ‘Yeah.’ Why? ‘Because I have very little cartilage under my right knee cap, it’s almost bone on bone.’ Bryant has undergone three operations on that same knee, one this past offseason, after having it drained several times during last year’s playoffs. ”Until I got it drained the first time during the opening round against the Thunder I could not bend that knee at all,’ he revealed. ‘It was swollen as hell and it hurt like hell. Luckily things got a lot better once I had the procedure.’ Kobe is 32. This is his 15th season. Including the regular season, the after-party and All-Star Games, he has played a total of 46,660 minutes … ‘You know how competitive and combative I am on the court,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing I like better than to practice. In fact, I like practice more than the games, because I get to go at my teammates hard. That’s when you find out what they’re made of, how much you can push some to get the most out of ’em, and how you have to back off others so you don’t lose ’em. So, in order to protect my knee and avoid a situation like last year, we decided before the season to sacrifice the team’s intensity by minimizing wear and tear as much as possible.’”

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  • http://Philosophervision@blogspot.com The Philosopher

    Jerry Stackhouse has been bone on bone for years.

  • Justin

    Ugh, you do realize of course that Kobe has been playing in the NBA since he was 17 right? That Nash was still playing competitive ball in college. That when Kobe came to the Lakers he got a whole lot of minutes as 6th or 7th man but when Nash came to the NBA he had to sit behind Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd? And while he did play very good defense, he wasn’t counted on to run the offense and get everyone involved. Throw it into Shaq and wait for the kick out or the ball to swing around. I’m not discounting what Kobe has done cuz I love the guy as a basketball player but let’s not dismiss how tough a guy Steve Nash is to play through the various injuries, aches, and pains he has. Somehow I don’t see even Kobe playing with one eye the way Nash did against the Spurs.
    What Kobe should really do (and I know this might sound weird) is watch how MJ played with the Wizards. Post ups, quick one or two steps and a pull up medium range jumpshot, lots of headfakes and just pure fundamentals. He wasn’t dominating every night but he was still scoring 20+ a game and some night was killing it for 40 or more

  • Mr McOvaChicken to you

    ^^^^^^^^ True Dat Justin. Now Everybody Aaaahhh . Poor Kobe . I worry about his quality of life after basketball. His pinky hurts so bad + hes playing with so many injuries. NEWSFLASH !! Like everyother ballplayer after 30. Hes finding it hard to try & slow down & take care of his body because his ego is almost as big as Brian Crawfords head when he thinks about LeBron ( while still trying to prove hes the best without thinking TEAM first) This is great coz Who cares the guys a fanny & hes on his way out no boubt. Summin it up if L.A. don’t win this year … IT’s Ova-Chicken !! Everything is … Everything is Lovely.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    Justin, you do realise your comments are irrelevant?

  • Justin

    In other words, no you forgot to take any of that into consideration and like most posters on here, don’t like to admit overlooking things or not thinking before they type.

  • Lawrence

    i think he will not play at the all-star game to take some rest…

  • Justin

    He’ll have to sit either the game before or the game after the All Star game for that to happen Lawrence. NBA rules don’t permit you to just skip the game. Charles Barkley used to tell voters not to vote him in because he needed the rest. This was after threatening to not play in the game in year’s past and David Stern telling him he had to

  • Yesse

    It really looks like the aging has begun. I wish Kobe could carry the Lakers to another championship.

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    True Warrior!!!

  • Playa

    yeah justin,cause as we all know kobe is currently averaging 12,3 point per game on baronish 37% from the floor,oh wait…yeah,there goes your advice.

  • Mr McOvaChicken to you

    Make Em Say Ugh !!

  • http://www.slamonline.com AllBall247

    All this and he is still the best wing player in the L.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    allball, gordon hayward has something to say about that

  • Joe

    He was in worse shape last playoffs, and that worked out allright.

    Let’s enjoy him while we can.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    Justin, nothing you said has anything to do with what I said. Kobe played more minutes than Nash, so he’s more worn down. That was my point. Maybe type less and read more, eh?

  • Dre

    I have complete bone on bone and it sucks. It is the most painful thing I have experienced, it hurts day and night. I have to have total knee replacement surgery late March of this year it will be a long road back but I am tired of the pain and something has to give. I’m not the biggest fan but I feel for him for real.

  • Justin

    Playa, Jordan was a 39-40 year old man when those numbers came in and he was playing through some knee problems too. I said he should play like Jordan, meaning in his style. He’s only what…32? He can play that way now and put up better numbers than MJ did at 39 by using his head a little more.
    Ugh…I’m thinking you should do more reading. It’s obviously a struggle for you

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    Your wit is as sharp as your analysis of the game, justin, sir. Touche.

  • Mr McOvaChicken to you

    @Ugh Posted: Jan.8 at 8:24 pm : ‘Justin, nothing you said has anything to do with what I said.’ Man Sorry that yo momma dropped you as a baby. At least Justin makes sense. I don’t see Kobe implementing this style which could benefit him as he doesnt understand good for the team , rarely has. Its always about him. He should realise his individual records will be broke by Bron in about 5 to 10 years anyways. Im likin this coz the bigger they are …

  • Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Kobe Bryant Stops Practicing Again

  • 90s badboy

    F*CK IT! HE’S STILL PRACTICING AND HE’S KNEE IS STILL OK! THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PHIL JACKSON TACTICT!

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