Kobe to have surgery!

Damn, damn, damn. Kobe is having offseason surgery on his right shoulder. He could miss the start of the upcoming season.

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0605/1563822.html

noooooooo
what the
we dont get shaq 4 da start in 2002
and no kobe in 2003
please come back on time

Wow... This is really bad, but good news...

The team is once again on Shaq's shoulders, he'll be ready by camp fellas. Don't worry this isn't as bad as it seems. I mean, hell, Kobe will stay in shape, you know that, but he'll also be able to feel better on his shoulder... I don't know... This is kind of out of the blue.

The 6-8 guard was scheduled to play with the U.S. team at this summer's Olympic qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, Aug. 20-31. Not only is Bryant expected to miss that tournament, he may also be in jeopardy of missing the start of the 2003-04 NBA season, according to Gray.

Bryant originally injured his shoulder April 22 in Game 2 of the Lakers' first round playoff series against Minnesota. But he continued to play until the Lakers were eliminated by San Antonio in the second round.

Despite the injury, Bryant averaged 32.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 12 playoff games.

Wow, I forgot about the summer's olympics. But man is our Kobe a fighter...

This really sucks because he won't be able to play for the US in the games this summer, and will possibly miss the start of the season, and won't be able to work on his game and get even better like he was planning on doing this off season.

Kobe was just on Sportscenter, he said he wants to get this thing done and over with as soon as possible. He doesn't want it to get worse, and he's very dissapointed about not being able to play ball for however much time it will take to rehab.

May I add that knowing Kobe's Work ethic, he should get healed quite fast. He'll do anything he can to get better...

In case anyone is interested, here is some info on Kobe's injury
(a labrum tear according to ESPN): http://orthopaedics.hss.edu/services/conditions/shoulder/shoulder_joint_tear.asp

3 to 4 months of rehab...given Kobe's great conditioning and his will, he'll probably be back on the shorter end of that scale (e.g. around September).

Sheesh! What else is going to happen to the Lakers? Still, you know this is frustrating Kobe 100x more.

I hope that everything goes well and that his shoulder heals quickly. I bet my life's savings (which isn't much... lol) that Kobe will do everything in his power to come back healthy, fit and ready for the coming season. He is so dedicated. That's what I love about him!

I hope Laker management can work some magic, esp. now that Fox and possibly Kobe won't be available at the start of the season.

I hope he gets his surgery soon. Its good he'll miss the Tournament now he can rest from all the traveling. He will stay in shape its his shoulder thats ailing not his legs. Don't worry he'll be back strong and as for the Tournament.... this just means that he'll only play for the Olympic team ... which is fine with me. Kobe will be just fine. It'll benifit him in the long run by having his shoulder taken care of now than to make it worse in a 82 game season. I know SHAQ will be in shape now that he has hired a trainer. I am cocerned about the supporting cast. George/Pargo/Mevendenko those guys need to work extra extra hard to sharpen their skills just in case KOBE misses the begining of the season



KOBE OUR REAL MVP

this is terrible... i hope it's not that serious...

This is awful. Even though his average was high during the playoffs, he missed lots of shots he usually makes and clanked lots of free throws. I was afraid his shoulder was hurt, and he wouldn't say anything because he wanted to play. Then nothing came out about it, and I thought he must be OK. Damn.

See!! Kobe even played through this pain, and he pulled it off... Too bad Kobe couldnt carry them. See maybe it was a good thing that we got eliminated in the 2nd round, cuz somethin coulda happened to Kobe's shoulder, that woulda ended his career... Good thing he's doin somethin fast about it tho, u know?

YES totally YES
He is having surgery in the OFFSEASON unlike shaq, whose absense in the begiinning of the year became VERY costly

C'mon red layoff the big fella. What would you do if you had 3 doctors with 3 opnions, each stating that the others will cripple you. Jump right in, or let them hash it out first?

Excellent points, LakersGyrl. Kobe didn't and never would have admitted he was too hurt to play. He could have been facing much more serious damage. From the latest, sounds like he'll be ready by training camp anyway.

Kobe will miss the QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, the Olympic Games are NEXT Summer...

He'll be back and better than ever next year, trust me. This will just motivate him to develop his footwork near the basket since he won't be able to move the shoulder. What he will do is practice his foot and running drills and learn to shoot with his left shoulder, maybe he will be a switch up shooter next year. This will only make him stronger...

yeah, we gotta look on the bright side. almost every athlete that gets injured comes back in amazing shape. i.e. rick fox, who says he's gonna come back in "sick shape." as hard as it may be to believe, you know Kobe's come back in BETTER shape (if that's possible!).

Kobe will pull through this just fine. He's an amazing athlete, and he'll lead us to another ring. Even though he'll miss a few opportunities, injuries and surjuries are a part of the game, and that's all good. Things happen for a reason, and I'm sure he knows that. It wasn't Shaq's fault that he got the surgury towards the starts of the season due to the many opinions that different doctors have. So he was skeptical, and that's normal.

YOu wait and see, Kobe is going to be BETTER next year...

Kobe will be back by training camp. He will get the surgery over with, and will heal pretty quickly. I heard him on radio stating that he wants to get to his off-season training regiment as quickly as possible. Kobe is young, he will heal fast.

The best way to heal quickly and the biggest determining factor for a player's recovery is their willingness to play in pain and their decision NOT TO EVER relent to pain and injury, Kobe has that as much as anyone ever has...its will power, and he will be back ASAIHP!