Kobe Bryant is so extraordinarily superior to his NBA counterparts at the game of basketball that he has played at a near-MVP level while not practicing for the first two months of the season. You heard right - he hadn’t practiced once all year until after the Lakers were pummeled by LeBron James and the Heat on Christmas due to his knee being nearly “bone-on-bone”.

All I have to say is, WOW.

Bryant has been plagued with knee issues for the past couple of seasons - he even needed his knee drained during the 2010 playoffs before undergoing surgery this off-season, his third such operation on the same knee, so hearing that he hadn’t practiced until recently isn’t completely shocking.

It only becomes shocking when you consider his production this season despite the constant pain and lack of practice-time.

According to The Sporting News:

*Bryant added that coach Phil Jackson was okay with the decision for him not to practice. “In order to protect my knee and avoid a situation like last year (when he had the knee drained several times during the playoffs and underwent surgery after the season), we decided before the season to sacrifice the team’s intensity by minimizing wear and tear as much as possible,” he said. *

But after the 96-80 loss the Heat on Christmas Day, Bryant was convinced that he had to start practicing again for the team to ratchet up its intensity. He told The Post that he thought some Lakers players had become too complacent, and that attitude started to permeate throughout the team. He thought Pau Gasol, among others, needed him “in their face, chest and game the same way Scottie Pippen and other Bulls needed Michael Jordan in theirs,” The Post wrote.

Despite the swelling in his knee, Bryant has not missed a practice since, according to the report.

An entire two months without practice, playing in the most competitive basketball league in the world, and still performing at this level?!

Insanity, I tell you.

Kobe is averaging a healthy 25.1 points per game and adding his usual all-around numbers in other departments (5.0 RPG, 4.5 APG) while playing just 32.0 MPG, his lowest total since the 1997-98 season. In fact, most of his per-36 minute numbers are at their highest levels since the 2007-08 season and his usage rate of 35.1 is leading the league so far. The Lakers have even won four of their past five games since an odd three-game slide, including their most recent victory over the Suns that saw Kobe put in 24 points while adding seven boards and five assists.

As Kobe prepares to pass Oscar Robertson tonight on the all-time scoring list (he’s just 16-points behind) it might be prudent to watch him play at this level while you still can. The man has already played 38,551 minutes in the regular season and an additional 7,811 in the playoffs so expecting him to continue performing at an elite pace might be demanding too much of him in the coming years.

After all, he’s approaching Michael Jordan’s career minutes total (48,484) pretty quickly and Bryant has already started to alter his game to make up for his declining athleticism by operating in the post more often and gambling less frequently on defense. He’s also scored over 30 points just 11 times so far this year, a relatively easy night’s work in his heyday.

And the knee woes? Look at Brandon Roy, folks. We might be witnessing the last couple seasons of Kobe Bryant as we know him if Roy’s condition is any indication of Bryant’s future.

I’ll be the first to admit that during his high-flying prime I didn’t truly appreciate Kobe’s vast talent, productivity and accomplishments. I’ll even go as far to say that I refused to acknowledge his awesome abilities WHEN HE SCORED 81 POINTS AGAINST THE RAPTORS.

Yes, I’m an idiot. I hold grudges, ok!!!

If his health holds up Bryant has an incredible opportunity to pass a few significant legends of the game on the all-time scoring list over the next few years - Kobe should pass Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone this year and he’s just 5.597 behind Jordan (3rd place) as of today. When CBS Sports first reported how he was “just” 5,597 behind I thought “piece of cake”. Now, upon hearing this news, I’m not so sure.

You can bet that I’m going to be paying much better attention now and be grateful to watch the final elite years of his stellar career. Better late than never, they always say.

Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan. He is, however, the closest we have to MJ in the flesh playing today. Instead of comparing him to Jordan, a standard no one may ever live up to, we might as well focus on what Kobe brings to the table right here and now. We might not have much time left.

Good luck passing “Big O” tonight, Kobe. I’ll be watching.

UPDATE 1/8/11: Kobe scored 25 points in the Lakers win over New Orleans last night, moving into ninth-place on the all-time scoring list in the process. Bryant needs just 227 points to pass Hakeem Olajuwon and move into 8th.

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