Kobe Bryant is an Economist

The NBA season is getting ready to tip off, which marks my favorite time of the year. The holidays are right around the corner and the basketball season will be in full swing within the next 30 days.  One of my favorite players, Kobe Bryant, is in the process of rehabilitating his achilles tedon, which he tore in the playoffs last May. Some said his career was over, and most thought he would not be back for a while, possibly missing all of this upcoming season.  But noone expected Kobe to be where he is now.  He is probably still at least two and a half months away from playing in an official game, but Bryant has amazed everyone with how quickly he is recovering. Time and time again Kobe has proved that he is the league's toughest player, but he must have been doubting himself big-time in the training room this past May.  The regular season wasn't ideal. The Los Angeles Lakers did not live up to expectations, and they were lucky to make the playoffs. Kobe knew the diagnosis as soon as the injury occurred. He knew that he was done playing basketball for a while.  But instead of being helped off the court, he actually slid the tendon back into place for the time being and shot his free throws before walking off the court under his own power.  That right there is enough to show why he is the toughest player in the NBA. After the game, Mr. Bryant had some decisions to make.  He realizes his age is climbing. What does he value more? His health or basketball? For a lot of people, the easy decision would be to retire.  Surely Kobe has more than enough money to support his family for generations to come. But I am willing to bet that the easy decision for Kobe would be to rehab his ankle and do everything in his power to make a comeback.  After all, the only things Bryant has known are loyalty, toughness, and winning.  In more ways than one did Kobe have to think like an economist.  Would he retire or attempt to come back? This decision was probably easy.  His values are very clear. It has always been about basketball.  aHow would he go about his rehab? There are probably more ways than one to go about a torn achilles tendon.  Did one way have a higher marginal benefit than another? What about the opportunity cost of the process? Would he have to sacrifice some time of the regular season for a full recovery? Or maybe one way was more risky but allowed him to return sooner. Kobe had no other choice but to act like an economist the day everything went wrong last May.  I just can't wait to see my favorite player return, hopefully sooner rather than later.