Kobe Bryant with "Probable" Torn Achilles, will be confirmed with MRI

With three minutes left in a game the Los Angeles Lakers desperately needed to win to keep their playoff hopes in their own hands, Kobe Bryant fell down on a drive to the basket and missing the playoffs no longer became the worst thing that could happen to them. Kobe was subbed out of the game, and walked to the locker room with 6 inch steps. After the game, Kevin Ding confirmed what everybody suspected and nobody could stomach the thought of.

The recovery time for a torn Achilles tendon is anywhere from 3-9 months, according to various sources on Twitter, but in basketball, the general consensus seems to be it will take at least six months to recover from this, probably longer. Which means this terrible, horrible, curse of a season already has a head start on ruining next year as well. This is sickening news on what could have been a fun and exciting night, another gut punch in a season with enough of them to level anybody.

Update: You can't confirm the injury without the necessary medical tests, but Kobe seems pretty sure of it himself.

We've seen Kobe Bryant go through a lot of shit in his 17 year career. Not once have I ever heard of him shedding tears. There are no words for this.