Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant will no longer be a superstar?
Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant is attempting another return after tearing his achilles in 2013 then fracturing his knee last season. Bryant is known as one of the hardest working athletes of all time and obviously aspires to get back to the level he was on in the past.
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Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders doesn’t think Bryant will be a superstar.
"That’s a good question. I think he’ll look good, but I don’t know if we’ll see the superstar talent that we’re used to seeing when Kobe is on the court. That gradual decline was going to happen – injury or not – so it wouldn’t surprise me if he was still very productive but not the elite Kobe of the past. I hope he’s elite and dominant though, because he’s so much fun to watch when he’s playing at that level. I’m just not sure if we’ll see that."
At Bryant’s age, he was in a decline before the injuries so he won’t be one of the league’s elite players. However, like Kennedy says, he can still be very productive.
Bryant averaged 13.1 points, 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 42.5% from the field, 18.8% from beyond the arc and 85.7% from the free throw line. In his storied career, he has averaged 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 45.4% from the field, 33.5% from three and 83.8% from the charity stripe.
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