Colorado Springs, Colorado - “I’ll push myself to exhaustion. To exhaustion.” Those were the only words Bryant uttered out after a lopsided loss to the San Antonio Spurs on May 15, 2003, a day that signaled the end of the Lakers three-peat dynasty.

Bryant had just come off the best individual season of his young career, averaging 30.0 points a game to go along with career highs in assists, rebounds and steals.  The future was bright and the promise was plentiful. He was only 25 years old and already he was turning heads with his off the chart numbers. His illustrious streak of nine 40+ point games conjured up memories of the great Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Then Rockets Coach Rudy Tomajanovich was quoted by the Houston Chronicle saying "He's phenomenal. We tried a lot of different things on him. He was just phenomenal. He's playing so good, it's sickening." 

Shortly after the Lakers season ended, Bryant was scheduled to undergo knee surgery in Edwards, Colorado.  The surgery however was soon overshadowed by the aberrant events that followed. News broke out about Bryant’s sexual assault allegations and the seemingly docile and amiable Bryant was now looked upon as a common felon. Kobe was perpetually hampered by his legal matters over that long drawn-out summer and the Lakers fan base was hit over the side of the head when they finally saw Bryant in a tank top in late August. 

Not only was he sporting a new tattoo, but what shocked the media the most was how skinny the once sculpted and defined Bryant had become. Kobe himself admitted he hadn’t touched a basketball or a weight in four months and it clearly showed. Bryant’s legal matters terrified him and he was contemplating whether he should ‘sit out’ the 2003-2004 season.  Upon further reflection however, Kobe decided that it would be in his best interest to play for the team and to help the newly acquired Gary Payton and Karl Malone win their elusive rings.

Although Bryant’s numbers plummeted from 30.0 points per game to 24.0 points per game, his leadership was instrumental throughout the season.  The Lakers once again had made it to the NBA finals and the stage was set for what seemed like yet another storybook ending. But due to the poor play of Bryant and the costly injury to Malone, what could have been the Lakers 4^th title in five years turned out to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, marking the end of Shaquille O'Neal's tenure in Los Angeles.

Bryant’s legal matters continued throughout the next off-season and consequently the 2004-2005 campaign was also marked by failure as the Los Angeles Lakers finished the regular season with a 34-48 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Although Bryant increased his scoring output to 27.6 points a game, for the second consecutive year Bryant struggled on the basketball court. His field goal percentage bordered a career low and his poor conditioning lead to very pitiable performances to close out the second halves of games. It was hard to believe you were watching the same player who not too long ago seemingly did the impossible.

But hope was not lost as the 2005-2006 seasons marked the “rebirth” of the 2002-2003 Kobe Bryant that we had all come to know so well. The Bryant that can score at will, seemingly make every shot and casually put up 20+ point quarters.  With his legal issues finally behind him, Bryant focused his whole off-season on conditioning and getting back to top form.  With 5AM running sessions and repetitive suicides Bryant finally made out on his promise to “push himself to exhaustion.”

The work paid off and he finished one of the most historic seasons in NBA history with 2,832 points averaging 35.4 points a game on improved field goal and free throw percentages.  Before this season Bryant had scored 50+ points only 5 times in his career. This season alone he had 7 games of 50+ points, most notably his 62 and 81 point eruptions. Furthermore, the Lakers returned to the playoffs after a one year hiatus as the 7^th seed and managed to pull off a 3-1 lead over the 2^nd seeded Phoenix Suns.   

As we head into this off-season Bryant again has gone under the knife and preformed arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He will be out of commission for a good 8-12 weeks which should have him ready around the start of training camp on October 2^nd.  This ‘minor surgery’ raises many questions.  Will Bryant perform at the same level as he did in the 2005-2006 season? Will he be out of shape and lose a step or two?  How much longer can he put this type of physical pressure on his body?  Can Kobe play into his mid-thirties?

One can only begin to ponder what the events of the future would have held had Bryant not been entangled with the legal curtains that surrounded him in the summer of 2003. Would the 2003-2004 Bryant have resembled the Bryant from the 2005-2006 season?  Would Kobe’s improved conditioning and training over that off-season have been the difference in the series with the Pistons? Would Kobe have won his 4^th ring? Would Shaquille O'Neal still be in Los Angeles? Would the Miami Heat have been the 2006 NBA champions?

And to think all of this started from one ‘minor surgery’ near Edwards, Colorado, similar to the surgery Kobe underwent yesterday.  Makes you think a little. Doesn’t it?