Lakers’ reporter Mike Trudell posted this — for the first time since his knee fracture Kobe Bryant was back in the gym taking shots.
Notice these are not the kind of shots you take in a game (no lift, just standing jumpers) but it’s a start.
Bryant can’t rush the bone healing process, plus he’s going to need a little time to get back into game shape once the doctors clear him. The rough timeline has him back in early February. We’ll see where the Lakers’ season is by that point.
If Bryant returns and is playing in games before the All-Star Game he will be a starter there as voted in by the fans (that’s not official yet but he is the NBA’s third leading vote getter so far, meaning he’s in). He can ask out, saying Stephen Curry should get his spot, but it’s not likely to get approved. (Yes, the fans voted in Vince Carter and he gave his spot to Michael Jordan for his final All-Star game, but that is a very different dynamic than this situation.)