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Kobe Bryant will sit out of the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sore right shoulder, the team announced Sunday. It's unclear when Bryant tweaked his shoulder, though Lakers head coach Byron Scott acknowledged the injury could have stemmed from the one-handed dunk Kobe finished over Clint Capela Thursday night.
Anthony Brown will notch his first career start in his place. Brown, the Lakers' 2015 second-round pick, has played a team-low 17 total minutes during the regular season.
It's unclear whether the Lakers will send Bryant back to Los Angeles to have his shoulder examined, or if he'll also sit out of their road game against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Kobe's '14-15 season ended early after learning his right rotator cuff had been "pulled off the bone." That injury occurred following a dunk against the New Orleans Pelicans in January. Scott refrained from speculating on the extent on the injury, though aggravating the same shoulder on another dunk is concerning.
Bryant's averaging 28.8 minutes per game over the last five contests, raising his shooting percentages in that span while averaging 18.4 points. The Lakers will likely give a detailed update on his shoulder in the near future, which we will follow-up with.
Here's the dunk from Kobe that may have caused this setback:
Kobe Bryant, slam dunking giantKobe Bryant with no regard for human life! The Black Mamba gave LA Lakers fans a poster dunk to remember!
Posted by Silver Screen and Roll on Friday, December 18, 2015