When it rains, it pours.
In what can only be described as the most shocking news of the day, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has suffered a torn rotator cuff. It was sustained during Los Angeles’ 96-80 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on January 21, a game in which Bryant tallied 14 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes.
The Lakers announced the injury via their official Twitter account.
Update: Kobe Bryant had an MRI exam, preliminary results show a tear of the rotator cuff. He will fly back to LA. pic.twitter.com/EOZTuuKjoL
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 22, 2015
Per Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, the severity is unknown.
Not specified how significant the tear of Kobe's rotator cuff is. Not all tears require surgery; most are first conservatively treated.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 22, 2015
Bryant may not require surgery, a la Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. There’s one major difference:
Carmelo had torn rotator cuff in 2013 in non-shooting shoulder, chose not to have offseason surgery. Kobe's is shooting shoulder, though.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) January 22, 2015
This comes at an incredibly inopportune moment.
Bryant’s been wildly inefficient in 2014-15, but he’d begun to find his groove in recent weeks. He’s shot above 40.0 percent from the field in six of his past eight games after doing it in just 10 of his first 27.
In that eight-game stretch, Bryant has recorded a triple-double and dished out a career-high 17 assists, amongst other feats.
The Lakers, 12-31, aren’t in a position for Bryant to come out and lead them to a championship. Their roster is thin on established talent, with injuries to key plays such as Steve Nash and rookie Julius Randle all but sealing their fate.
To lose Bryant would be to lose the last glimmer of hope.
Bryant’s yet to have been ruled out for an extended period of time, but he’s injured, nonetheless. Whether or not he fights through it at the age of 36 during a lost season is unknown, but also unlikely.
Per Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, head coach Byron Scott made it clear that he doesn’t want Bryant to play through pain.
"“One thing I’ll never do is sacrifice a player’s health for a basketball game,” Scott said before the season started. “If it can hurt him in the long run, I won’t do it.”"
With Los Angeles preparing for a big offseason, maintaining Bryant’s health will be a top priority.
The 19-year veteran has considered retirement, and this setback could be a major factor in his potential decision. The question is, will it motivate him to continue playing or push him further towards retirement?
After missing 76 games in 2013-14, anything is possible.
Until that decision is made, Lakers fans have every reason to be on edge about their warrior shooting guard.
Next: Is Kobe Bryant the best player in Los Angeles Lakers history?