Kobe Bryant is too smart to state that he can beat father time. But the most the ultra-competitive Bryant will concede is a tie.
Sports Illustrated is reporting that the 36-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star is coming to grips with the deterioration of his athletic ability due to injuries and his age by saying that he now is hoping to pattern the next phase of his career after another player whom he feels mastered the transition of adjusting his game as he grew older.
Kobe Byrant's arrogance with LeBron James raises some heads
Even if that player once starred for the hated Boston Celtics.
According to SI:
"In preparing for this season, Bryant told friends that the player he is analyzing, as an example of adjusting your game as you get older, is fellow 36-year-old Paul Pierce. This is part of his goal to become 'more efficient' on the court."
He told Sports Illustrated, "I'm going to max [my last two years] out too, to do whatever I can. Leave no stone unturned, no water left in the sponge."
Bryant said his brief 2014 season, besides dealing with rehab and injury, also included a self-study of the limitation of his ability on the basketball court.
But the owner of five NBA championships refused to concede age has made him less of a player.
"There are certain things that my body can't do that I used to be able to do," Bryant admitted to SI. "And you have to be able to deal with those. First you have to be able to figure out what those are. Last year when I came back, I was trying to figure out what changed. And that's a very hard conversation to have." Bryant pauses. "So when I hear the pundits and people talk, saying, 'Well, he won't be what he was.' Know what? You're right! I won't be. But just because something evolves, it doesn't make it any less better than it was before."
CBSSports.com, however, noted that Pierce never was counted as much for the Celtics' scoring when he was in Boston as Bryant is with the Lakers. It said Pierce averaged 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists during his final year with the Celtics in 2012-13. Those numbers were similar to his 2008 year in which the Celtics won the NBA title (19.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game).
Even at his advanced age, Bryant will be the focal point in the Lakers' offense, so his adjustments will have to be flawless for him to continue to carry the lion's share of the team's load.
"I'll be sharper," he says. "Much sharper. Much more efficient in areas. I'll be limited in terms of what you see me do, versus a couple years ago. But very, very methodical, very, very purposeful.
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