NBA: Start with a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar template card

Chapter 234 Achilles Tendon Rupture
The Lakers narrowly defeated the Warriors by 2 points and are one step closer to the playoffs.

But obviously on this night, Curry's 47 points and the Lakers' victory are insignificant.

Everyone focused their attention and placed their inner hopes on the official announcement after the game. Perhaps Kobe's faltering steps were a near miss and not the worst outcome?

But Kobe's personal inheritance broke the hearts of Lakers fans.

"Are you sure that's a torn Achilles tendon?"

"Yeah, I did that move a lot, but it just happened, and it felt like it just cracked, and it was kind of weird. I realized that this injury could end my season and I wouldn't be able to walk. I I feel it is basically confirmed that the Achilles tendon is torn, so I will do an MRI first, maybe surgery will be needed, and then I will recover.”

Although there has been no detailed examination, after the preliminary examination, Kobe confirmed that he was seriously injured in an instant interview. The picture of Kobe with red eyes and tears made fans feel for him.

Kobe, who played full games one after another and went all out on the court, led the team to defeat the Hornets and Trail Blazers one after another, and was about to bring the team into the light in his own way. He himself was tired, exhausted, and shouldered Kobe Bryant, who was watching the Lakers, fell into the darkness before dawn.

The next day, there were few games on the league schedule, but the Bobcats needed to face the Bucks at home, who had no hope of making the playoffs.

But obviously, from the training earlier in the day to the silent and somber locker room after the game, the Bobcats locker room, which was originally full of laughter and laughter, was a little quiet today.

Chen Xiao in 92, Middleton in 91, Walker in 90, Henderson in 87... As the Bobcats players grew up, the name Kobe Bryant always shined in the basketball world, and Middleton The die-hard Kobe fans led by Dayton have turned the Bobcats into Kobe's stronghold. Jordan and Kobe, the two outstanding shooting guards, are the favorite basketball players of the Bobcat players. Jordan has long since left the court, but his "old age" is still there. Kobe Bryant's hard work on the court was talked about by players who knew the game better.

At this moment, the death of a superstar is like a huge boulder falling into a lake among the middle and new generation of young players like the Bobcats. Sessions, who has been reimbursed for the season, originally hoped to accuse Kobe in the locker room of what he did, but he felt the same at this moment. Silence silence.

Kobe's trainer Vitti officially announced in an interview after the Lakers' training that day that Kobe's Achilles tendon was ruptured. Kobe, who quickly underwent surgery, was successful and is expected to need to be sidelined for 6 to 9 months.

The Achilles tendon was ruptured and he was out for more than half a year. Vitti's words shattered the remaining illusions of fans around the world.

Kobe, who was born in 78 and is now over 34 years old, has obviously entered the twilight years of his career. In the last few years of his career when he needed to try his best to maintain his condition, he suffered a serious injury that could destroy his entire career - a ruptured Achilles tendon.

People are worried whether Kobe, who has been in the league for 17 years, will leave the league and leave the arena where he left a lasting reputation.

The big brother that Kobe was chasing all the time, Air Jordan, also announced his second retirement in his career after the 34-97 season at the age of 98. The first retirement and the subsequent Wizards career have their own special features. This time in 98 Retirement is largely the official retirement of the Flying Man.

That year, the Flyers averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, double-best team, scoring champion, championship, FMVP. In the "last year" of his career, the Flyers still dominated the league.

However, due to internal conflicts, the dynasty collapsed. After supporting the Bulls to establish a second three-consecutive dynasty, the Flyers also chose to officially leave the game, leaving behind the legendary myth of the "God of Basketball".

Fans are talking about it, if Jordan had not chosen to retire, would Jordan, who was still powerful in the league last year, still be able to play at the highest level in the league, or how many more years could he play at a high level?

Three years later, Jordan came back for the second time. Jordan, who was 3 years old in the middle of the season, gave the answer by averaging 39 points, 22.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

This season, Kobe, who is the same age and is also performing at a high level in the league, averaging 27.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6 assists per game, is as good as the Flyers in terms of basic statistics. It makes people sigh that Kobe is indeed the closest to Jordan. man, although still out of reach.

Before the injury was announced, Kobe immediately updated his Facebook page. The words were full of dissatisfaction and unyielding with his fate. "The Mamba spirit is to never give up." "There are too many things in the world bigger than a torn Achilles tendon." It’s a challenge. Now I want to stop looking at myself and feel sorry for myself, regain my confidence, and continue to fight with the faith I have always insisted on.”

Mamba chose to leave first, but soon, he will return with full force.

Fans were somewhat comforted by Kobe's statement that he would return. At the same time, the media and fans also discussed how much recovery a 35-year-old veteran could recover from a serious Achilles tendon injury.
What you need to know is that although basketball players deal with injuries all the time, compared with some hard injuries and contusions, injuries to the Achilles tendon are definitely the number one killer of basketball players' careers.

All because the health and strength of the Achilles tendon play a vital role in the athlete's running, jumping and balancing abilities in the competitive mechanism.

According to an immediate report from ESPN, nearly forty players have suffered Achilles tendon rupture-level injuries in NBA history, and the vast majority of players will quickly fall into retirement after the injury.

Focusing on the past 20 years, according to statistics, a total of 18 NBA players have suffered such misfortunes. 7 of them have retired, and 3 of them have sadly retired after playing only one season. But even the remaining players are basically They are all struggling on the court, and it is difficult to return to their own level and status in the team and the league.

There are very few people who have recovered well from injuries. Elton Brand, who averaged 20+9 per game before the injury and 14+9 after the injury, is already a rare positive example.

The "Captain", an interior player who originally relied mainly on shooting and body static, suffered an Achilles tendon injury that was slightly more friendly to shooting inside. His score dropped by 3%, and his efficiency plummeted from 5% to 3%, specifically at the basket. The shooting percentage has plummeted from close to 4% to less than 5%. The basket shooting rate is at the same level as the previous overall shooting rate. This is the result of the Achilles tendon injury that showed Brand "mercy".

Although two seasons later, the "Captain" was able to contribute an efficient shooting percentage of over 81% in 5 games with nearly full attendance, it should be noted that Brand was not yet 1 years old after the injury at that time. He is still in his prime, and even so, Brand gradually faded out of the league four years after suffering an Achilles tendon injury.

From the most underestimated big man in the league, the "captain" at the helm of the ship, to being reduced to a blue-collar worker, to a substitute and fringe player who works around the world to make a living, there was only one serious Achilles tendon injury in between.

Just this season, the 12-13 season, after Brand left Philadelphia and came to Dallas, he averaged 20+7 in 6 minutes per game, and he was only a few years away from retiring sadly.Among the outside players like Kobe, there is one who has achieved a certain degree of victory in the battle with Achilles tendon injuries. This is also the most positive typical case that is often mentioned in the league, "The Essence of Human Movies" Wilkins.

The media swarmed in to interview Dominic Wilkins, and numerous reports also allowed many young fans to understand the injury story of "The Essence of Human Movies."

In the middle of the 91-92 season, at the end of January, Wilkins suffered a serious injury from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

在跟腱断裂前，度过自己32岁生日刚半个月的威尔金斯正朝着自己连续第8个场均25+赛季奔驰而去，甚至就在一个月前出手30次轰下整整52分与43+14的“大猩猩”尤因为球迷贡献了一场飙分大战，并且还拿到了职业生涯第20000分。

When Wilkins suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, the outside world, from media reporters, commentators to fans, sentenced this great player who had brought many movie highlights to death. He was finished.

After all, this player who is famous for his dunks is even more regarded as a dunk player. He has amazing athletic ability, powerful explosive power, a one-step faster start-up speed and incredible ability to adjust in the air. Can you imagine such a player? Will the "dunk general" who relies on his body and explosive power transform into an outside shooter after a serious injury? The data proves that before the injury, Wilkins almost never shot three-pointers.

At that time, Wilkins was as confused and painful as Kobe is today. "When you are 32 years old and at the peak of your career, but suddenly encounter such a devastating injury, you will naturally ask yourself: 'Am I really? Can I come back?', "You want me to come back from this kind of injury at the age of 35 and get better?How can this be? ? ? ".

But then, there was pressure and doubt from the outside world. No one was optimistic about the strong return of such a dunker, which made Wilkins determined to "silence all critics."

Training, paranoid training.

After a long recovery period of 9 months, Dominic Wilkins returned strongly. In the 91-92 season due to injury, he averaged 46.4 points per game on 28.1% shooting. He hit back hard at his critics by scoring 46.8 points on 29.9% shooting.

That season, in the scoring list, Wilkins, who averaged 29.9 points per game, was second only to Michael Jordan, who was on his way to establishing the Bulls dynasty with 32.6 points per game.

29.9 points, 26 points, this is Wilkins' performance for two consecutive full seasons after recovering from injury.

But the story did not have a happy ending after all. The Eagles management did not trust this meritorious veteran who had spent 12 years with the team starting from his rookie season.

Wilkins' contract is about to expire. As the most famous player in the team's history, who has built the "Essence of Humanity Movies" in the tradition of the Eagle flying to the sky, Wilkins obviously has reason to ask for a high pension contract. What's more, even after returning from a serious injury, Wilkins still shows no signs of aging and shows no signs of significant decline.

Especially that season, the 93-94 season, which was the window period when Jordan retired. Under the leadership of Wilkins and Kevin Willis, the Hawks made great progress in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 34 wins and 13 losses in the All-Star Game. , ranking first in the Eastern Conference, the Eagles may not be able to win the second championship in team history during this critical window of leaderless leadership.

The last time they won a championship can be traced back to the ancient days of the NBA. In the 57-58 season, under the leadership of the first-generation Eagle King Bob Pettit, the Eagles completed their revenge. Pettit scored a game that set an NBA playoff record at the time. With 50 points, he narrowly defeated the Celtics who defeated him in the finals last year and won the final championship.

Fighting for the championship?No.

The Hawks front office made the shocking decision to tell Wilkins, we don't need you, during the All-Star break and send him to the then West Coast dumpster, the Los Angeles Clippers. The division's No. [-] player traded his team's scoring leader in the middle of the season. This is the only miracle in history.

"I originally thought we should have a chance to compete for the championship." Wilkins, who could not understand the team's decision, scored 34 points in the first game after coming to the Clippers. A month later, he played against his old club. He scored another 36 points in the game, while Danny Manning, another star who was exchanged for the club, only scored 6 points.

In the first half of the season after the trade, Wilkins averaged 24.4 points per game. After coming to the Clippers, he averaged 29.2 points per game. Wilkins' two full seasons after recovering from injury were magical.

There are many doubts about whether Kobe, who is 3 years older than Wilkins, can imitate his miraculous recovery process. However, it is obvious that Kobe's competitiveness and fighting spirit are no less than any superstar in NBA history, which the outside world still retains. Hope for a miracle to happen.

……

Pardon Kobe?Chen Xiao was amused.

Take a look at the suggestion by some ESPN experts that "the Los Angeles Lakers can pardon Kobe Bryant to save salary." Chen Xiao agreed with Kupchak's answer, "There is nothing wrong with our brains."

Three years ago, Kobe and the Lakers reached a three-year contract extension worth 3 million yuan. Next season will be the last year of this big contract.

Kobe once again leads the league with a salary of over 3000 million, almost 800 million ahead of No. [-] King Nowitzki and No. [-] Melo.

And this is Kobe once again tied with Jordan in a certain dimension. Kobe, who holds a salary contract of over 3000 million, will also become the only Mr. 3000 million in NBA history, even though there is a full 18 years difference between the two. Kobe Bryant this season will be tied with Jordan 18 years ago. This may be another kind of fate.

If you don’t compare with Jordan, he is a god, not a human being.

Such a huge contract proves Kobe's status to the Lakers and even the entire league during the victory period. Kobe's great achievements in his long purple and gold career. According to media estimates, Kobe's global value to the Lakers brand is not tens of millions in salary. To sum up, the reason why a world star like Kobe gets a 3000 million contract is because the maximum is only 3000 million, and his return to the Lakers needs to be in hundreds of millions.

At least compared to Wilkins, who was kicked out by the Hawks despite his outstanding competitive form and has since been displaced, and even went to Europe to seek gold. Kobe, whose position in the Lakers is firmly entrenched, under the worst-case scenario, his NBA "later" life is still colorful. .

(End of this chapter)