Kobe Bryant Has Concussion and Broken Nose

Kobe Bryant's injuries include a broken nose and concussion now. Bryant was hit by Dwyane Wade at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game while going to the basket, suffering injuries that would typically sideline the average NBA player. Now though, it looks like Bryant will try to play through the pain again.

As reported by Yahoo!, Bryant has a broken nose and mild concussion thanks to Wade, likely helping to further the on-court rivalry for the pair. Watching the play take place, it didn't appear that Wade intended to injure Bryant, but one of the color commentators did make it his mission to point out that Wade did not go to check on Bryant after the hit.

This is yet another example of why nobody should question the toughness of Bryant, as either one of these injuries is enough to send the average player to the bench for a few days. He is intent on playing against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night though (Feb. 29), potentially because he knows that the Lakers will struggle if he is not on the court.

For now, it doesn't look like this mild concussion will cost Bryant any time on the court, but because it is so hard to pin down the effects that a concussion will have on an athlete, nobody knows for certain how he will feel come game time. At 20-14 so far, the Lakers are in second place within the Pacific division with a shot to still catch the Los Angeles Clippers (20-11). Bryant knows this, so it may become very tough to keep him off the court, even if the injury does seem pretty severe.

Do you think that Kobe Bryant is the toughest player in the NBA? Would the Los Angeles Lakers win any games if Bryant were to miss time?