Kobe Bryant has played through a lot of injuries, and if you let the Lakers physical therapist tell it, the Black Mamba is not a human.
Los Angeles Lakers physical therapist Dr. Judy Seto told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard that “Bryant’s pain threshold is unreal” and “the highest she’s ever seen.”
“It’s the highest that I’ve ever seen. He channels his focus so well in terms of just the task at hand. But also when he’s had pain, he can block that out.
…
“I think he was playing I want to say Cleveland, maybe Miami. But it was during the first quarter. He dislocated his finger. It’s basically like, this bone was over here. The head trainer, during a timeout, he relocated it, had him go back in.
“I think that trait makes him who he is, and his ability to focus also allows him to channel his energies. It’s not that he doesn’t feel pain; it’s how he responds. Everybody responds to pain a little differently. There’s some people that if you have an injury, you perseverate on it, an injury here can manifest to an injury over here or somewhere else in your body. It can be extremely debilitating. That’s the other stream.
“…But he’s at a level where he does not allow it to control him. But that’s how he is with so many aspects of his life, so… I think that’s why he is who he is.”
Seto called it amazing that Bryant was able to shoot these two free throws, after tearing his Achilles. The legend just continues to grow.
h/t SI