Kobe's decision is selfless, but is it smart?

Quote :

I think that he should do surgery right now because down the line he is going to have to do it eventually right? Better now and miss the first month of the season than three months into the seasons. Who knows maybe this may be a smart choice. Opinions?

-KB10

FOX Sports:
You can call Kobe Bryant anything you want, but you can drop all this selfish stuff about him being more important than the team. And you can even take it a step further as he proves he is far more willing to stick himself out there for his teammates than Shaquille O'Neal ever was.



Tuesday on his website kb24.com, Bryant addressed the topic of the damaged ligament in his right pinkie finger that has needed surgery since Feb. 5. Doctors told him it will take up to three months to heal, so Bryant has opted again not to have it repaired — just as he did more than seven months ago and after the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in the Finals in June.

Wrote Bryant, "When the doctors told me recovery from a procedure could be 12 weeks, I just decided now was not the time to have surgery. What it really came down to for me is that I just didn't want to miss any time 'punching the clock' for the Lakers, given all we are trying to accomplish as a team this NBA season."

If he were to have surgery this week, he would likely miss at least the first month of the regular season, which begins Oct. 28 for the Lakers. And keep in mind, Bryant still played in all 82 regular-season games and 21 playoff games despite the injury during the Lakers' 2007-08 march through the Western Conference. He averaged 30.1 points during the playoffs after a regular-season average of 28.3, as the Lakers surprisingly won the conference title.