Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant is 36 years old and fresh off back-to-back seasons in which he suffered season-ending injuries.
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Naturally, when the 2014-15 NBA season rolls around, Bryant will be a different player than he was years ago when he was in his prime. Bryant, in a self-aware moment, admitted as much during an interview in China, according to insidesocal.com.
"“I can say I want to be able to jump as high as I used to. I want to be as fast as I used to. But no; I don’t jump as high as I used to,” Bryant said. “That’s okay. I’m not as fast as I used to be. That’s okay, too. I’ll figure out another way to do it.”"
Bryant made similar comments recently to Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated, suggesting that his basketball IQ would help him remain a top player.
"I’ll be sharper,” he says. “Much sharper. Much more efficient in areas. I’ll be limited in terms of what you see me do, versus a couple years ago. But very, very methodical, very, very purposeful.”"
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bryant, one of the most confident players of this NBA era, believe’s he can overcome his lost athleticism going forward.
Whether he’ll ultimately be accurate remains another story.
Kobe will still be a productive player, but he’s clearly declined in ability in recent years and simply doesn’t stack up to the top guys in the game anymore.
However, Kobe has proved many wrong before and it’ll be interesting to see if he can do so again in 2014-15.