Perhaps no player knows Kobe Bryant better than long-time teammate, and current Oklahoma City Thunder guard, Derek Fisher.
The two were drafted together, played together for 12 seasons, and developed an extremely close friendship over the years.
Despite being in Oklahoma City, Fisher has continued to monitor Bryant’s progress through his latest setback. In an interview with Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, Fisher spoke on the things going through Bryant’s mind as he recovers:
There’s a lot more to it than just him coming back from the injury that is impacting him psychologically, At this point in his career, he’s also thinking about having an opportunity to win a championship again before retiring.
Bryant has continually spoken about getting one more championship before he finishes his career. It is an expected goal for someone who has accomplished as much as he has throughout his career.
Whether or not that goal will be realized before Bryant rides off into the sunset, Fisher isn’t sure. But he does know that Kobe is prepared for the fight:
He’s always been prepared to face the realities that we all face as we age […] But when you’re as skilled as he is, you can still go out and dominate games and be extremely effective. But how that plays out, a lot of it depends on the team and what they build around him. We’ll have to wait and see on that one
The Lakers will have opportunities to bring in the necessary pieces over the next two years. There are some trade possibilities, and the team is sure to have a pretty high draft pick this season.
The team is sure to center around Bryant for as long as he puts on that uniform. And nobody, from Fisher, to his old high school teammates, are willing to put anything past Bryant.
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