It's been a long wait for oft-injured Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, but the countdown to his return to the court for a regular season game is almost over and the five-time NBA champion is "excited" to get back out there.
Ahead of the Lakers hosting the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night at the Staples Center to kick off the 2014-15 campaign for both teams, Bryant said he is excited to return to the game.
"It's step one of a long journey," Bryant told ESPN Los Angeles Monday on the eve of the season-opener. "I'm excited to get back out there. I can't say I haven't missed the game. I've missed it so much."
Bryant hasn't played in a regular season game since suffering a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 17, 2013. The 16-time All-Star signed a two-year $48.5 million extension last November.
Bryant is expected to play 30-40 minutes Tuesday night and he said that missed "everything" about the game. The Lakers star played in six exhibition games this preseason and averaged 19 points and four assists over 26.7 minutes.
"I think the rust, every day, came off a little bit more," said head coach Byron Scott, who takes over following the resignation of Mike D'Antoni after last season. "The last preseason game that he played, he looked really good, as far as his fadeaway, his elevation, his stamina."
Bryant was held to just six games a season ago due to an Achilles injury that was followed by the knee injury that ended his season. Scott was cautious with Bryant in the preseason, holding him out of the final two games in order to make sure he can stay healthy.
Bryant, 36, felt normal during the exhibition slate, but it remains to be seen how his body will hold up over the grueling 82-game schedule.
"I felt the way I thought I would, which is I felt normal. I felt like I could do anything I wanted," Bryant said of the preseason. "My body, game after game, felt good, felt solid. It shouldn't be any different just because the regular season starts."
Los Angeles is looking to bounce back from a franchise-worst 27-55 campaign in 2013-14 that saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time since 2005. While many pundits don't believe the Lakers will be a contender this season, Bryant isn't buying it.
"I'd say yes," Bryant said when asked if the team could make the postseason for the first time in three years, "but [media members] are going to debate it anyway, so what the hell does it matter? I really like the group that I'm with, though. These guys are dogs, man. They play hard. We put our hard hats on and we go to work. We're a scrappy bunch, a physical bunch. I like this group."
For Bryant, the waiting ends and the journey begins Tuesday at the Staples Center.
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