As the Lakers prepare for their final preseason game on Friday, Kobe Bryant addressed the media and spoke briefly about his latest Twitter avatar.
Bryant changed his avatar to the number 1225, which was believed to reference the rankings that ESPN released. The Lakers were chosen to finish 12th in the Western Conference and Bryant was ranked the number 25 player overall in the NBA.
According to Serena Winters, Bryant gave his alleged reason for the new profile photo.
I asked Kobe about his 1225 Twitter avatar, he said it’s his dogs birthday
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 24, 2013
Bryant cannot be taken serious with his answer, as he is known to have used rankings and doubts before to fuel his play and recoveries.
The 35-year-old guard has spent the offseason recovering from surgery after tearing his Achilles tendon in April. Since then, the Lakers failed to re-sign center Dwight Howard and made a series of smaller signings this offseason.
ESPN ranked the Lakers number 12 in the Western Conference back in August in their Summer Forecast rankings. Bryant took exception to that ranking by tweeting “12th I see..” back on August 14.
With their #NBArank, ESPN then ranked Kobe 25th in the league, behind Wizards point guard John Wall, Pacers center Roy Hibbert and Heat forward Chris Bosh. Although it seems that ESPN took Bryant’s injury into account because he was ranked sixth last season when healthy and carried the Lakers last season.
Bryant may claim that that the 1225 is the date of his dog’s birthday. However, everyone believes that it is in direct correlation with the rankings. The Laker guard has been looking for any motivation this offseason to help in his recovery. It may be working as Bryant has been ahead of schedule and has been seen jogging and taking shots on the court.
It is uncertain exactly when Bryant will return, but you can bet he will be ready to prove ESPN wrong.
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