Kobe Bryant will not play in Lakers' season opener

Kobe Bryant is not expected to play in the Los Angeles Lakers season opener on Oct. 29 against the Los Angeles Clippers, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Mike D'Antoni spoke to media after the Lakers preseason victory on Friday and ruled him out of the contest:

"No," D'Antoni said after the Lakers' 111-106 preseason win over the Utah Jazz on Friday to finish out their exhibition schedule 4-4. "My God, I know he's Superman, but my God. He hasn't run yet."

Lakers Nation has the video of Mike D'Antoni's animated reaction:

Perhaps that's a loose definition of "running" by D'Antoni, though, as Kobe was clearly running before games during the team's trip to China, or as the Lakers' own Vine account put it, "sprinting":

D'Antoni also clarified that Kobe is still "ahead of schedule," as has been the report for the last few months. The Achilles tear was in mid-April and it's now late-October, putting the recovery time to about the six month mark. Achilles tear patients commonly begin running within six months and take nine months before returning to full physical activity.

There is still no timetable on Kobe Bryant's full return, but it won't be opening night.