Kobe set to return from 3-game absence vs. Kings

The Black Mamba is back in time to possibly give Sacramento Kings fans one last chance to relive the pain of the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

After sitting out the last three games with a sore shoulder, Kobe Bryant will suit up and start for the Los Angeles Lakers in Sacramento on Wednesday, Mike Bresnahan of Los Angeles Times reports.

In his 20th and final season, the 37-year-old Bryant has largely looked like a shadow of what he once was. His shooting numbers are at career-lows, and the team has openly conceded that the 2015-16 season is nothing more than a distended tribute to Bryant's legacy.

Bryant, however, did briefly turn his season around in December. He averaged 20.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field over a seven-game stretch.

Those numbers took a nosedive in the five games thereafter as his shooting percentage plummeted to 31.8 percent. That was followed by his subsequent three-game absence.

The Lakers went 2-1 without Bryant, picking up two wins against fellow cellar-dwellers Phoenix and Philadelphia before getting smacked by the Golden State Warriors.

Bryant is averaging 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 30.4 minutes per game this season. His return will bump Anthony Brown back to the bench.