Bryant has started all 50 of the Los Angeles Lakers games this season and could start in all 82 games for Los Angeles for the third straight season.
It was the summer before the 2007-2008 season began when his incredible streak of 281 consecutive games played over the past three years began.
In the summer of 2007, Bryant played in 10 games when he was a member of the Olympic Qualifying team. He then played and started in 103 games for the Lakers that season. He played in every regular season game and all 21 postseason games.
Just like in 2007, in 2008 he played with the USA Men’s Basketball Team and started in 13 games while leading USA to a gold medal. Apparently that wasn’t enough for Mr. Bryant, so he ended 2009 having played and started in all of Los Angeles’ 105 games while on his way to a fourth NBA Championship and his first NBA Finals MVP.
The last time Bryant missed a game goes all the way back to December 6, 2006 when the Lakers played the Atlanta Hawks.
However, his incredible stretch of playing non-stop for almost three years is not because the “Black Mamba” has lucked out and not had any injuries.
In this season alone, Bryant has dealt and played with an assortment of injuries. They range from painful injuries to two of his fingers on his shooting hand, a numb elbow, a groin pull, a hamstring pull, and back spasms that actually caused him to leave a game in January.
Just recently, Bryant picked up a fresh ankle sprain in a win over the Bobcats on Wednesday night. It appeared he had tweaked it pretty bad during his initial reaction and it showed when he finished with a season-low five points on 2-for-12 shooting.
But don’t worry about Bryant, he will be ready to go when the La...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
