Kobe Bryant is getting old. No one wants to say it, but it is true.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard is only 32, but by NBA standards he is old. He came into the league straight out of high school at the age of 18. He has played in more than 1,000 regular season games and almost 200 more in the post-season.
He does not soar quite as high, does not shoot quite as well, does not dominate quite like he did.
Which is not to say he is still not one of the league's best players. He is no longer No 1, having relinquished that crown to LeBron James a couple years ago.
But he no longer plays most of his game above the rim. He is reluctantly recognising the years, almost never actually training with the team.
"Because I have very little cartilage under my right knee cap, it's almost bone on bone," Bryant told the New York Post.
I do not mean to rain on his parade; last week he surpassed Oscar Robertson for ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and he leads all players in the All-Star voting.
But he is shooting 45.4 per cent, his lowest level in six seasons. He is having trouble motivating teammates. And it could very well be the Lakers' window of winning championships is closing.
Bryant has proven he can play through pain. Last season he played with a fractured finger and the bad knee, and the Lakers still repeated as champions.
Maybe he is simply pacing himself. Or maybe, he is just feeling the years.
sports@thenational.ae
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid