Kobe Bryant isn't done

It seems as if everyone is taking this to be Kobe's last season. I can understand why so many would think this. Kobe just turned 37 years old recently and is going into his 20th season in the NBA. Not only is Kobe getting old, but his body is having trouble aging as well. In 2013-14 Kobe played only six games due to an Achilles injury and a knee fracture. Then last season he played 35 games until he tore his rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Since then Bryant has made a full recovery from his shoulder injury and is ready for training camp. I think Bryant will have a good season and still be very productive and here is why.

The coaching staff admitted that last year they played Kobe too much and that this up coming season they will have a minutes restriction on him. This is great because the Lakers realized that they want to reserve Kobe Bryant for a late season push and not to let him over due it in meaningless games. The Spurs have been doing this for years with Tim Duncan and it seems like he never lost a step. Kobe Bryant has the fundamentals and the ability to play an old mans game. I don't expect to see Bryant driving down the lane and dunking on anyone this season. I think instead he will get more post looks and some more one on one situations where he knows he can get an open jumper off the dribble. If he changes his game to a more grounded one and combine that with a minutes restriction, I think Kobe will feel like he has more left after this season.

Bryant still has things he wants to achieve in the NBA. First and foremost he would like to add another championship to his collection. He is also just under 6000 points away from being number one on the NBA's all time scoring list. I feel like if Bryant plays three more season of averaging around 25 points per game he will definitely reach 2nd on the list by 40 years old. And by then he would have to evaluate whether he wants to play anymore. I can't see him playing past 40 years old if he can't average more than 20 points per game, but I think his future comes down to whether he can still perform at a high level and his health.

Kobe is being smart. He sounds like he just wants to take things one season at a time at this point in his career. I think he will go into next summer evaluating how he feels and how he performed this season. If he is in good health and had a strong season I can't see him retiring.