Kobe leaves game vs. Jazz with Achilles injury, refuses to take weeks off
Kobe Bryant was forced out of Saturday night's contest against the Utah Jazz after dealing with a sore Achilles, and didn't return.
The Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard has been playing through an Achilles injury for the past week, despite advice from team trainers to rest for two weeks.
He finished the game with five points on 2-of-8 shooting, and hasn't scored in double digits since suffering the injury.
The 37-year-old insisted he won't take time off to rest the ailment, regardless of the pain.
"Taking two weeks off is not on the menu," Bryant told CBS' Zach Harper prior to Saturday's match.
Suiting up throughout his final season is important to Bryant, who said earlier Saturday he won't play in the 2016 Olympics.
"As soon as you have an Achilles injury, it's the other Achilles and you're like, 'Ugh, here we go again.' So for me to leave the game, like the game in Oklahoma, to leave the game and not come back and play, it's like I'm caving in to that anxiety of it again," he added.
Bryant dealt with a similar injury in 2013, when he was forced to miss the remainder of the season after tearing his Achilles tendon.