Los Angeles Lakers

Byron Scott isn't sure he's OK with Kobe Bryant playing in all 82 games

Published Nov. 9, 2015 4:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant recently told head coach Byron Scott that he would like to play in all 82 games this season, especially if it's his last.

At first, Scott agreed with the idea. But then, after mulling it over, he doesn't think it's smart to put that much wear and tear on Bryant's body early in the season and potentially risk losing him later in the year.

“He said, ‘Coach, this might be my last year. I want to see if I could play every game that I can play,’” Scott said on Monday after Lakers practice, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I was like, ‘OK, I’m good with that.’ And then getting here [Monday] morning, I was like, ‘You know what, maybe we better talk again.’

“I know how he feels and I understand that, but my objective is to get him to play this whole season, and that might mean missing some games just so he could get through the whole year.”

Bryant was given Monday’s practice off so he could play in the team’s back-to-back games against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.

“That’s a grind, to try to play all 82,” Scott said. “We’re going to talk again.”

Scott says Bryant, who has missed 123 of 164 possible games over the past couple seasons because of various injuries, has been open and honest with him in regards to his health. Scott trusts Bryant to let him know when he needs rest, and he has, which is why he sat out on Monday.

“I’m really relying on him to kind of tell me how he feels body-wise and energy-wise,” Scott said. “He’s always been pretty honest with me about that. Sometimes he’ll say he feels like you know what and other times he’ll say, 'I feel good.'”

Bryant has appeared in all six Lakers games this season. He’s averaging 16.5 points per game on 32.0 percent shooting (20.8 percent from deep), along with 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 29.2 minutes per game.

The Lakers have 18 back-to-back sets this season.