Kobe Bryant out for season after surgery

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant had successful shoulder surgery on Wednesday, the third-straight year he has undergone a season-ending procedure, the National Basketball Association team said.

The two-hour surgery, to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, was performed by doctors Neal ElAttrache and Steve Lombardo at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

The 36-year-old Bryant is expected to be out nine months and doctors said with proper rehabilitation he would be able to return to the Lakers in time for his 20th season.

"I expect Kobe to make a full recovery and if all goes as expected, he should be ready for the start of the season," ElAttrache said.

For the last three years Bryant has endured a season-ending injury, after a torn Achilles tendon in April 2013 and a broken bone in his knee last season.

The 19-year veteran and five-time NBA champion suffered the injury in last Wednesday's 96-80 loss at New Orleans.

Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, is the league's highest-paid player at $23.5 million.

The Lakers made a point of giving a specific timeline for Bryant's expected return Wednesday to reiterate that they don't expect him to retire.

He injured his shoulder while dunking the ball against the Pelicans and on Monday the team announced he had opted for surgery.

"In my mind right now, he's coming back next year, unless he tells me something different," said Lakers coach Byron Scott on Wednesday.

"But I think the biggest thing with Kobe, as long as [people] are saying that he's done, he's going to come back.

"I think he proved his point this year that he still has a lot left in the tank."

Bryant averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35 games this season.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Lakers' Bryant to have surgery, season in jeopardy

Kobe Bryant's NBA season could be over after the guard agreed to have surgery on a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, the Los Angeles Lakers said on Monday.

The five-time National Basketball Association champion will have surgery on Wednesday and a timeline for his return will be issued following the procedure, the team said in a statement.

Bryant injured his shoulder last week in a loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans and it could lead to the 16-time NBA All-Star being shut down for the Lakers' final 37 games of the 2014-15 regular season.

The 36-year-old guard was averaging 22.3 points from 35 games this season for a struggling Lakers team that is last in the Pacific Division with a 12-33 record.

Bryant had sat out eight of the Lakers' previous 16 games for "rest" reasons.

The former league most valuable player, who stands fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, played in only six games last season due to knee and Achilles tendon injuries as Los Angeles posted a 27-55 record.

Bryant, who joined the Lakers as a first-round pick out of high school as an 18-year-old in 1996, is signed through next season after inking a two-year extension in 2013 for $48.5 million.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bryant skips practice for Achilles rehab

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant sat out Los Angeles Lakers' practice on Thursday, but coach Mike D'Antoni said it was just a normal step in his return from Achilles tendon surgery.

"I don't think we should be surprised about anything," D'Antoni said of Bryant's decision to skip practice after training twice this week with his team-mates.

Until Saturday, Bryant hadn't trained on court with the Lakers in more than seven months, since rupturing his left Achilles tendon in April.

The NBA superstar's return to practice sparked immediate speculation that he could return to competition before the end of the month -- something Bryant said was possible.

But D'Antoni said he never expected Bryant's progress to be completely smooth.

"It's a process," D'Antoni said. "There might be days he'll have to take off and days he'll ramp it up."

Bryant's team practice sessions this week included full-court and half-court contact drills.

Teammate Pau Gasol said he wasn't worried that some soreness prompted Bryant to rest.

"I think it's good for him to get some good practices in and take a step off, and let's see how the Achilles reacts and let it calm down and then pick it back up," Gasol said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com