Kobe Bryant expects to be fighting fit by August, said the basketball superstar while kicking off his annual basketball camp in Santa Barbara last week. The news had the "junior mambas", who have signed up for the four-day coaching camp, as well as fans world over elated.
Bryant’s prediction was echoed by Dr Robert Klapper. "We will see him at Game 1 [of the season]," said Dr Klapper, who is the host of the popular ESPN Saturday show, Weekend Warrior speaking about Bryant.
Dr Klapper’s Twitter followers immediately started re-tweeting this news and the tweet sparked off an animated conversation about one of the finest basketball players the world has seen. An injury can be a good thing for a player, the doctor whose specialisation is orthopaedics, opined when it changes the player’s game to add longevity.
"Kobe’s Achilles tear will prolong his longevity," tweeted Dr Klapper. He also listed four reasons why he expects Kobe to exceed expectations in the coming season: improved surgical technique; new Kevlar sutures; accelerated rehab; and Mamba focus.
The news also provided cheer to Kobe’s many fans in the Middle East who are eagerly awaiting his arrival in the UAE for the Kobe Bryant Health & Fitness Weekend on September 26 and 27. The weekend includes a coaching camp, where a handful of lucky youth will get an opportunity to be provided basketball coaching by Kobe himself.
Highlights of the weekend will be Bryant coaching a celebrity basketball game at American University in Dubai wearing a wireless microphone so fans can hear his every word, getting a rare glimpse into the mind of the basketball legend followed by Bryant judging a slam dunk competition of the region’s best dunkers.
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