After Bryant’s shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, he had a brief moment of doubt toward the future of his playing career. He wasn’t sure if he could continue to rehab for the third consecutive season.
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His doubts must not have lasted long because Bryant was adamant toward reporters about returning to play next season.
“Who the hell said I’m retiring?” he said, via ESPN. “That was never a question whether I was going to play next year. It’s just discouraging.
“You have an injury and have another one and another one. It’s discouraging, but I respond to it the way I always have – just stick to the process.”
He also understands that even if he comes back, there’s still a strong possibility he could get injured again.
“After playing so many years (I know that), I could play 10 minutes and hurt some other (stuff). You know what I mean?” he said of next season. “At this stage all I can do is try whatever I can and be as healthy as possible, and if something goes, it goes. Father Time got me.”
Can he play beyond next season?
“Yeah, I could,” he said. “As I sit here right now, do I want to play after next year? No. That could change.”
Bryant was also asked how much confidence he has in the front office of getting players to compete for a title.
“As confident as they are in me that I’ll be healthy next year,” he said. “You’ve got to trust each other, man. They’re going to do their job, do the best job that they can. I’m going to do the best job I can. We’ll see how it goes.”
