Kobe Bryant returns to practice: “If There Was A Playoff Game Tonight, I’d Play”

There has been no Black Mamba on the court for the Lakers this season, as Kobe Bryant rehabs from a torn Achilles he suffered in April. Bryant spoke to NBA TV on Friday and made some pretty bold statements:

According to ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin:

“I feel like I’m ahead of schedule,” Bryant told former teammate Rick Fox in an interview for NBA TV on Friday. “If there was a playoff game tonight, I’d play. I’d play. I don’t know how effective I’d be, but I would play.

“The fadeaway still works, the ballhandling, being able to post. Those are things that I can do right now. But it’s not the playoffs, thank god.”

According to Mike D’Antoni, Bryant has been on the practice court taking shots that are in-game speed.

After seven months rehabbing a torn Achilles, Kobe Bryant has returned to Lakers practice, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) November 16, 2013

Bryant is certainly needed for both the Lakers and the NBA as a whole, and had made it no secret that he would return to game action as soon as possible.

While there is no target date set for Bryant’s official return, his return to practice is a great sign for Black Mamba fans, Laker fans, and Kobe Bryant himself.

Follow Mike Pendleton on Twitter @MP2310

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Photo credit: (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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