Kobe Bryant was battling an illness and couldn’t seem to find the net on Friday as the Lakers lost to the Spurs, 93-80. The Mamba shot just 1-14 in one of his worst games of his 19-year NBA career.
Bryant would typically be back in the gym following such a dismal shooting display, but Kobe was in the locker room after the loss, with his basketball mortality on clear display.
From the L.A. Daily News:
The Lakers said Bryant has a probable viral infection. Bryant was hardly as forthcoming, only revealing that he was “feeling achy” on Friday morning. But Bryant sounded ominous when asked if this illness is something he could overcome.
“It’s the first I faced this type of challenge in my career,” said Bryant of his 19-years in the NBA. “Honestly I don’t know. I’l think about it and talk to the great team of therapists and figure it out.”
Bryant’s 1-of-14 shooting clip represented his lowest marks since shooting only 1-of-8 on Feb. 12, 2013 against Phoenix. In that game, Bryant also did not attempt a shot in the first half. Bryant tried offsetting his poor shooting accuracy by going 7-of-9 from the free-throw line and dishing off six assists. But Bryant also committed six turnovers and hit his lone field goal with 10:59 left in the game. Bryant sat nearly four minutes later.
“Your body won’t respond and you’re sick and you used to be able to fight through these things,” Bryant said. “I tried to lean on my teammates and, at the same time, be aggressive and take shots. They didn’t go in.”
