For the third consecutive season, Kobe Bryant’s year ended early thanks to injury. This year, it was a torn rotator cuff that put Kobe on the sideline as the Los Angeles Lakers struggled to their worst record in franchise history.
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While he continues to recover, Kobe appeared as a guest analyst for Sina during Game 3 of the NBA Finals and revealed that he hopes to start shooting within the next month and a half as transcribed by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
The strength in my shoulder is getting better and better by the day. Hopefully, I’ll be shooting the ball in a month and month and a half. Then I’ll feel like a fish being put back in water.”
The quicker Kobe can get back on the court, the better as he will surely be doing everything to ensure he’s ready when next season starts. His estimated return is October which means he would be cleared either during training camp or right near the beginning of the season.
The team around Kobe will surely have some new faces as the team is expected to make some big moves in free agency and will also add to the team in the draft as they hold the second overall pick, as well as the 27th and 34th selections.
As Kobe enters his 20th NBA season, there remains questions as to whether it will be his final year in the league. After so many injury issues in these last couple of years, Kobe will be looking to prove that he can still hang with the NBA’s elite before he hangs it up.
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