If you do not know who Kobe Bryant is, then you might have been living under a rock for the last 15 years or more. Kobe Bryant hit the NBA like a ton of bricks and it has only been recently that some are wondering if the young basketball star is finally bringing a close to his hall of fame type career. This season was cut short due to a season ending rotator cuff injury, but the real question comes as to whether this is going to end a very accomplished career.
No, this is not the first time that Kobe Bryant has been injured this badly. When he tore his Achilles tendon, he was in the surgery room the next day. With high hopes of returning to the Lakers, Kobe Bryant did whatever he could to get the rehab going and that included getting to the hospital as fast as possible. Right now, the rotator cuff injury is causing more than a little pain for the superstar. He basically has been presented with a few options and none of them are good.
He can play with the injury, but the odds that it will heal the right way without surgery are not looking that good. The tear is in his shooting shoulder and that does not make things any easy to decide on. Kobe Bryant believes that he can play through the pain according to online sources, but what does that really mean.
As of right now, it looks like Kobe Bryant would like to play one more season and if that is the case, the surgery has to be the right choice. Kobe Bryant could also leave the tear there and retire right now. He would be turning down another $25 million but he would go out on terms that are not that desirable being caused by injury. Every player would love to finish their career on a high note, but not by career ending injury.
Kobe Bryant could also opt for surgery and come back to play at the start of next season. Even though he is meeting with the number one surgeon that has plenty of experience with this injury, he is not likely to get any other options at this point. Kobe Bryant is going to play next season no matter what, but if he can get surgery and it is a success, he could extend his already superstar career passed 2016 and possibility onto another championship.