Kobe Bryant battled an illness Friday night,and shot just 1-14 in one of his worst games of his 19-year NBA career during the Lakers 93-80 loss to the Spurs.
Bryant would typically shake such a night off and get right back in the gym. The Lakers star hinted at his mortality, when he told the L.A. Daily News that he used to be able to fight through such an illness.
“He wasn’t feeling too well,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said. “Nothing physically as far as a knee or Achilles, but he’s not feeling well.”
The Lakers said Bryant has a probable viral infection. Bryant was hardly as forthcoming, only revealing that he was “feeling achy” on Friday morning. But Bryant sounded ominous when asked if this illness is something he could overcome.
“Your body won’t respond and you’re sick and you used to be able to fight through these things,” Bryant said. “I tried to lean on my teamamtes and, at the same time, be agressive and take shots. They didn’t go in.”
“It’s the first I faced this type of challenge in my career,” said Bryant of his 19-years in the NBA. “Honestly I don’t know. I’l think about it and talk to the great team of therapists and figure it out.”