DAMN !!!!
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant will miss the remainder of the season, a league source confirmed to ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.
Bryant has been sidelined since Dec. 17 with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He also missed the Lakers’ first 19 games while recovering from a torn Achilles in his left leg suffered last season.
A source tells ESPNLosAngeles.com that team physician Stephen Lombardo will re-evaluate Bryant before an official determination is made. That exam was initially scheduled for Friday, but the source said the exam could be moved up to Wednesday.
In all, Bryant played six games this season, averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 42.5 percent shooting from the field. The Lakers are 22-42, tied for the worst record in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles signed Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension in November. The five-time NBA champion called his recovery “a slow process” during a news conference in New Orleans at All-Star Weekend last month.
Lombardo examined Bryant on Feb. 21, and it was determined the 18-year veteran would be sidelined another three weeks before being re-evaluated because of continued pain, swelling and soreness in the knee.
At the time, coach Mike D’Antoni said he was unsure whether the team would see Bryant on the court again this season.
“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s out of my hands. We’ll see. I have no answer to that one.”
General manager Mitch Kupchak had said he didn’t want Bryant back until he was “100 percent.”
“We’re not going to push him to get back,” Kupchak said. “I don’t see why you would. We’ve made a commitment to him for two more years, and I just don’t know why we’d do that [push him to come back]. But if he feels he’s ready and he’s in shape and he gets the doctor’s approval, then there’s no reason why he couldn’t do that.”