Kobe will come back as Kobe with a little more jump shots and a little less drives to the basket. Other than that it will be the Kobe of last season with one more year on his back. I don`t think this injury will really hurt his game that much - but if he rushes back, he might reinjure himself. If they are smart, they will cut his minutes down to perhaps 30 a game and rest him on some back to backs. But don`t underestimate Kobe. If he wants to he can still average 25 points per game.
This^. But if he's smart and leaves the Lakers to play for a contender then he can extend his career on top for another 3-5 years possibly. Chicago, Indy, Clips, Heat, SA, OKC, Dallas, Houston, He could flourish on a number of teams.
He'll sit out half the season, while they tank and miraculously receive the 1st pick, and snag Wiggins to put Showtime back in the spotlight.
Now with Dwight gone it's Kobe's team again. He will put up 25 PPG even with a bad ankle. He might need to shot 25 times a game to do that but he will do it.
In terms of stats I think he will be right up there still. I've not doubt that physically it will have an impact on him, that he won't come back to the same level. It won't be much but at his age when you have a setback you rarely come back to your previous level. People attack Kobe last year but you have to give him credit. When he played nice thenLakers struggled. They looked terrible. When he decided to hurt everyone feeling and shut everyone out, he managed to drag the Lakers into the playoffs. Right now there are so many gaping holes in the Lakers lineup, I can't see why Kobe wouldn't just look to fill out his stats anyway. I can't see them making the playoffs so why not.
