Kobe Bryant return [VIDEO]: Los Angeles confident 'Black Mamba' will stay healthy next year?

Two familiar things have been missing from the Los Angeles Lakers this season, the first being playoff contention and the second being superstar Kobe Bryant. The Lakers will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2005 this season while it was announced last week that Bryant will remain sidelined for the rest of the campaign due to a fracture in his left knee, but the team remains optimistic about its future and the health of Bryant moving forward.