Fans encouraged not to vote for NBA star Kobe Bryant

There is no doubt that Kobe Bryant is one of the biggest NBA stars and many fans would like to see him play against other big players in the league in the All-Star Game. In fact, his fans would also like to just see him play but Bryant has been having a very difficult time this season, suffering several major injuries that saw him away from the court.

The NBA announced the first round of applicants for the 2014 All-Star Game on December 12 and Kobe Bryant had the most votes amongst all guards in the Western Conference, despite the fact that he only played two games since his return from an injury on his Achilles tendon. He maintained his position as the most desired guard in the conference on December 26, when the second round was released, despite his fractured left knee that happened 9 days earlier.

In fact, Kobe Bryant has only played 6 games this season and even those weren’t reminiscent of the NBA star from a few years ago. He got less than 43 percent of the shots he made from the floor and just 19 from the distance. Being a bit rusty is only normal after being on the bench for seven months, but the 2007-2008 MVP has not been performing better than quite a few other guards in the Western Conference, a fact which Bryant is well aware of.

Before the Lakers’ game against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night – which they lost 137-115 – Bryant asked the hundreds of thousands of fans who voted for him to show support for the younger players in the league. He encouraged people to vote for the young talent which can benefit a lot from having the support of the fans and can help them improve over the years if given the chance to shine in the most entertaining game of the year.

Injuries keep Bryant away from the court

If we look at it from a practical perspective, the votes Bryant gets might not even matter, as he might not be physically able to play by mid-February and actually show on the court for the fans during the New Orleans festivities this year. He is just starting to recover from his injured knee and will be sitting on the bench for at least another three more week, or until his fractured knee is properly healed.

It has been three weeks today since Bryant’s injury took place and this should put him halfway in the recovery timetable set on December 19, but it remains uncertain if he will be able to return on January 28 for the game against the leaders of the Eastern Conference – Indiana Pacers. While the Lakers really need a win, it will not be worth sending in Bryant too early and risking his recovery, so the team management might extend the period for an additional week if needed.

The five-time NBA champion could prefer to use the All-Star break in order to rest and continue his recovery process rather than participate in the exhibition contest which he has taken part in for years.

Even if Kobe manages to fully recover by the end of January and can play in the All-Star Game, he will most likely not be at the same level which fans expect to see. He was already rusty before this injury and he will need some time to get back in proper shape before he will be able to play like he did over the years. This was a subject which he covered in his interview on Sunday and his request for fans to vote for someone else seems to be very well founded and more than reasonable.