Kobe Bryant spoke to the media moments before the Lakers hosted the Miami Heat for another Christmas day showdown. Bryant was not in the best of moods, and spoke from the heart about his latest setback.
Bryant was scheduled to speak on the status of his fractured knee, when he became agitated about talk of previously torn Achilles tendon.
Bryant, who simply is more focused than ever, was emphatic in explaining that his latest injury had nothing to do with his previously torn Achilles tendon according to Pro Basketball Talk.
“Because it’s Christmas I will refrain from being a smart ass,” he said. “I don’t think one had anything to do with the other. I mean, we evaluated it pretty extensively. The fact of the matter is, any of us can get hurt at any moment. The key for us as athletes is to block that fear out, and when you have injuries that fear is enhanced. You kind of put yourself under a microscope and you start thinking about it too much. It can happen to anybody. So you just have to tune that noise out and go out there and perform.”
Bryant believes he was beginning to play like his old self, and pointed to the circumstances of his 21-point performance in 33 minutes in his last game before the injury, a 96-92 win over the Grizzlies.
“It was a great test going up against Tony Allen, who in my opinion has been the guy who defended me the best individually since I’ve been in the league,” Bryant said. “And with four games in five nights, to be able to go up against him and respond to that challenge, I was feeling really good about things.”
Bryant went on to say that he felt like he was finally playing like himself before the latest injury.
