Lakers fans were well aware of Bryant's knee problems, but many saw him taking the court in every single game and assumed that he would be able to play through the pain.
Things were worse than Bryant let on. In a telling quote to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bryant reflected on a frustrating 2010-11 season.
“I wondered how I was ever going to play basketball again," he said.
Whoa.
This is Kobe Bryant. This is the guy who plays through anything and everything to give his team what it needs. This is the guy who is the face of the Lakers.
From Wojnarowski:
His arthritic knee had gone bone on bone, making every step an excruciating exercise. Bryant felt like the end was creeping closer. He couldn’t practice and couldn’t move with authority on the floor.
'There were a lot of thoughts, a lot of self-evaluating going on, wondering, how can I ever be effective again? How am I going to play despite this knee? I couldn’t move. It was just so painful. There was nothing I could do,' said Bryant.
But that's all in the rear-view mirror for Bryant now.
"I feel brand new, man," the Black Mamba told Wojnarowski.
And he certainly looks like a completely different player.
Bryant didn't have the same spring in his step last season.
He struggled to finish around the rim in the same fashion we had seen from him previously. Bryant's scoring average (25.3 points) was the lowest we had seen from him since the 2001-02 season, nor was he as active on the defensive end as he had been before.
It's been a completely different season for Bryant this time around.
Bryant's "mysterious knee procedure" has had him looking like he did when he was still rocking No. 8 for the Lakers.
The blood-platelet therap...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
