How Kobe Bryant Overcame His Ankle Injury in the 2000 NBA Finals

Kobe Bryant is possibly one of the greatest NBA players of all-time and the greatest Laker ever. Two jersey numbers in the rafters at the STAPLES Center prove it. Kobe was able to take over games in ways that not many players could.

His drive to win at any cost helped him succeed on and off the court. An 18-time NBA All-Star, five-time NBA champion and one-time NBA MVP, Kobe tragically passed away on January 26, 2020.

Eduardo Solano, from FOX Sports Radio 1340 AM Hopewell and AccuScore, wrote this about Kobe Bryant recently:

“I’ve always been a Chicago Bulls fan but I followed Kobe Bryant’s entire career! Kobe is one of my favorite athletes of all-time and I still can’t process that he is gone.”

Bryant hurt his ankle badly in Game 2 of the 2000 NBA Finals. Kobe called it the worst sprained ankle of his career. “From there, it was on me to figure out a way to play and be tactical.

I knew what I could and couldn’t do, which directions I could push off and how much force I could apply. After establishing that, it was just a matter of altering my game within those constraints to continue dominating,” Bryant said.

Kobe Bryant explained that to do that despite the injury, he had to maintain control and dictate where he was going to go with the ball and how he was going to play.

“I had to, even on one ankle, keep the advantage in my court and never let the defense force me to do something I didn’t want to do. That was the key here, and that’s the key always.” Kobe concluded.

Kobe went from missing most of Game 2 and all of Game 3 to stepping up in a big in Game 4, playing 47 of a possible 53 minutes and scoring 28 points to help the Lakers beat the Pacers 120-118 in overtime in Indianapolis. The Lakers would win the series 4-2. It was Kobe and Shaq’s first NBA Championship.