Kobe played sixteen seasons. He’d already said next season would be the last. Is there any point in a 34 year old trying to rehab a a ruptured Achilles? He probably wouldn’t return until next January or Feb at the earliest. Is there any point if he was planning to retire anyway?
What do you think Kobe will do?
He’s devastated right now. It’s not how any great champion wants it to end.
Makes me feel so old. I remember him getting drafted out of high school. A lot of great games since then.
Kobe’s 30 million salary for next season is a big stumbling block. Here’s one scenario that could play out if Kobe decides he wants to continue playing.
Right now his recovery time is being placed at six to nine months, which means he’d be back early- to mid-next season. The question is how well he heals and whether or not he thinks it’s worth it. Right now it sounds like he plans to come back.
Kobe is having surgery this afternoon.
I wish him the best of luck. Hope everything heals well. He’s got a long road back.
The big question is should Kobe come back. It’s always sad to see players that tried to play too long and their skills diminish.
Kobe has looked really sharp these past few games. He was practically carrying the Lakers on his back. But he paid a price for those heavy game minutes.
Well, he’s either done, or will attempt a comeback, but fail to play to his expectations and give it up. That’s my prediction anyway. He won’t be the same.
This is a damned shame. Kobe’s last 8 games had him going 48, 47, 43, 47, 41, 48, 45, and 43 minutes, far too many for a man who has played over 1,450 NBA games (regular season and playoffs) in his career. Whether or not this is his coach’s fault or Mamba’s fault is open to speculation.
I don’t agree. He’s a HIGHLY paid professional that’s one of the best all time. Of course he’s going to play tons of minutes, especially given the state of his team with the age and uncertainty surrounding the Lakers, and it’s Kobe’s team. And he has been putting up some amazing numbers in many of those games you cite as well. He can still play. Whether he can or not going forward remains to be seen and whether his work load played into his freak injury is anyone’s guess but I’m inclined to say this could have as easily happened to him when he was 18 as it did now at 34.
A ruptured achilles is a freak injury, and not so much an age-related one, especially in a relative non-contact sport like basketball.
No. Plays the first game next season. After a day or two this will motivate him.
Forgive me if I am mistaken, but dont they usually wait for swelling to go down before surgery?
And when will teams learn to trade huge contract oldsters before they go down with injuries or decline?
double post
He is easily one of the top five players in the league in his 16th season, we’ve been waiting for this supposed decline to happen for half a decade. There is no chance in hell the Lakers amnesty one of their greatest stars ever. He’ll be back just to show people he can, Kobe has the same drive to prove people wrong that Jordan did.
No, the big question is if he can. I don’t know why sports fans insist on having these conversations; they’re boring and nobody listens anyway. If these guys can play and they want to play, let them and enjoy it. Everybody either gets hurt or declines, and if they quit while they’re on top, everybody begs them to come back. 
I think that’s part of the reason he’s been saying he planned to retire after next year. Maybe this will add another year to that timeline, but I don’t know if he’ll stick around longer than that.
A few very important points: he has a no-trade clause in his contract, this was his best season in years - one reason he played so many minutes is that he was their only player who was consistently good and consistently healthy - and it’s very unlikely he could be traded anyway because he’s being paid so much. So the Lakers can’t be blamed for not trading him. And he’s 34, not 40- he’s getting close to the end and has declined on defense, but he’s still an exceptional player.
And star players are worth a lot more than the numbers they put up on the court. Kobe is a huge cash cow for the Lakers, if he wants to keep playing they will have him out there no matter if they have to wheel him out on a wheelchair and no matter how many seasons he sinks.
This makes sense, but don’t forget that Jim Buss appears to be a moron. It kind of looks like the NBA’s two biggest-market franchises are in the hands of guys who were born on third base and think they hit triples.
I went with Yes because I do think he’ll officially make it back, but he’ll never be nearly what he was.
He should hang it up but he’s too competitive. He’ll try to come back just to prove he can.
This reminded me of Isiah Thomas. He was playing his last season (1994) and tore his Achilles’ tendon before the season ended. Isiah choose to go ahead and retire. It just wasn’t worth trying to rehab at his age.
Kobe is probably in better shape. IIRC Isiah was a lot more beat up physically and the tendon injury just finished him off.
Also, to finish up his counting stats.
i don’t like Kobe much, so I’d be glad to see him retire. I didn’t want him to become injured to retire, but it works for me just the same.
Kobe is an ego-maniac, however, so I could see him coming back just to prove he could do it. That’s nice, but it’s not practical. Unless he has a record or two he has an eye on, he’s not going to win a ring for this year or next year, so when is enough enough? His body is breaking down, and considering he’s been playing full time since high school, it’s not surprising.
My best scenario would see Kobe retire, and then the Lakers win the championship without him… sweet!