Last night, Kobe Bryant got back to Los Angeles after completing his annual tour of Asia where he visited both China and the Philippines.
Asia tour done! Good to be back in souther cali
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 14, 2013
Only three hours after his flight from the Philippines, Bryant was already finding motivation for next season. ESPN.com ran their annual Summer Forecast in which a panel of experts predict where teams will finish within their respective divisions. This year, the panel predicted that the Lakers would finish 12th in the Western Conference this season and it caught Bryant’s eye.
12th I see..
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 14, 2013
With the way that the off-season has gone, the future of the Lakers isn’t exactly at its brightest. Bryant is still recovering from an Achilles injury, the team has lost its two best defenders, the top three players are all into their 30s in a league that is ostensibly dominated by youth and athleticism.
Even with that, Bryant is one of the most competitive individuals in the NBA and is likely going to take this projection and use it as motivation for the upcoming season. While it isn’t expected that this year’s Lakers team can finish in one of the top four spots out west, one can reasonably expect this team to, at the very least, compete for a playoff spot barring health concerns at a level similar to this past season.
We asked Lakers Nation if they thought the Lakers would finish better than 12th in the Western Conference, and the answer is a resounding yes. Check the poll below.
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