Kobe Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon late in the season and was not on the floor at all during the Los Angeles' Lakers' humiliating sweep at the hands of the eventual Western Conference-champion Spurs, is walking again, and making waves in the media.
When asked about constructing the all-time greatest possible starting five, Bryant went with Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. While LeBron James was off in Miami earning his second straight NBA title and Finals MVP, Bryant was extolling the forgotten value of Bird, a Celtics legend.
"I will say as the years go on people really forget how great Larry Bird was," Bryant said. "He was ridiculous. And I grew up in LA - just like everyone else here - hating his guts. Dude - the guy was just money."
Bird is a three-time NBA MVP, which is one less than James has already accumulated, and a three-time NBA champion, something LeBron is still working on. Bird was clearly the superior 3-point shooter, posting a 37 percent mark for his career while LeBron sits at 33 percent. Bird also was one of the better free throw shooters in NBA history, registering an 88 percent mark for his career, while James has hit from the charity stripe at a 74 percent clip.
Back to the Achilles. Bryant being able to walk means he is currently ahead of the six to eight month timetable that normally accompanies ruptured Achilles tendons. Upon sustaining the injury, Bryant vowed to be back ahead of schedule, and in the lineup for the Lakers' 2013-2014 opener.
This offseason will be busy for No. 24; while he is rehabbing he will also need to try and coax mercurial center Dwight Howard to return to Staples Center and be the next great big man in a long line of Laker legends, including Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jabbar.
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