The birthday present arrived a day early for Kobe Bryant, a slight consolation to an otherwise frustrating year riddled with injuries.
Bryant revealed on his Instagram account that he began shooting drills on Saturday, roughly seven months after tearing a rotator cuff in his right shoulder that required season-ending surgery.
“First day back on the court shooting! Bout Damn time!!” Bryant wrote on his Instagram account before including hashtags for shoulderrecovery, 20thseason, drinkbodyarmor and lakers.
After wearing a sling for the first six weeks following surgery in late January, Bryant gradually increased his workload that entailed lower body exercises including squats, lunges and leg presses.