For elite athletes, a ruptured Achilles tendon is typically seen as the final straw, and sadly, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers suffered just that.
Bryant played a lot of minutes and was determined to get Los Angeles into the playoffs in April 2013. During this notorious season, Steve Nash, who played in just 50 games, and Dwight Howard visited the city. Bryant attempted to position the Lakers to sneak into the playoffs despite their lack of depth on the roster and patchy play.
However, playing an average of 38.6 minutes per game that season—a figure that increased as the season progressed—led to this unfortunate injury in the end. Even so, he ruptured Achilles, which produced a historic occasion, and he still made his two free throws to help the Black Mambas defeat the Golden State Warriors. According to Goldin, the jersey Bryant wore that evening was put up for sale and brought in $1.22 million.
Even while it seems like a ridiculous amount to pay for a piece of the five-time champion’s history, the jersey is signed by Bryant and matches the one he was wearing.
Even though he was aware of how serious his injury was, Kobe shown strength on the floor that evening. Since many athletes have failed to return and play at a high level, many at the time of Bryant’s 34th birthday assumed he was calling it quits.
However, Bryant accepted the lengthy recuperation process and went on to play three more seasons. The Black Mamba made a comeback and gave it a shot despite playing just six games in 2013–14 and 35 in 2014–15. He even scored 60 points in his career-ending game in 2016.
It was difficult to picture Kobe Bryant playing in the NBA when he made the decision to hang up his spikes, but he tried to enjoy life beyond hoops. He took up some other interests, including as coaching and book authoring, at which he found great success.
As Bryant found it difficult to give up basketball, another well-known star, Vince Carter, approached him to discuss retirement. However, as he did for so many others, Kobe gave Carter some very wise counsel.
