After going through major injuries in the last three seasons of his so far legendary 19-year career, the playing days of Kobe Bryant are no doubt nearing its end. Bryant was recently interviewed by Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears and one of the expected questions asked was if this coming season could be his last, to which the 5-time NBA champion replied: "Absolutely."

Like Us on Facebook

Kobe was then asked if he thinks his beloved Los Angeles Lakers can make the playoffs next year, and again he straightforwardly answered: "Absolutely."

While confidence had never been a problem of Bryant ever since he barged into the league when he was still an undeveloped 17-year-old baller, there is a high probability that only one or none of these two "absolutelies" would indeed happen at the end of this season.

There are four possible scenarios: a.) Both of Bryant's forecasts come true; b.) the Lakers miss the playoffs and Kobe continues to play (this meant that none of his predictions came true), c.) the Lakers make the playoffs and Bryant goes on playing, and d.) the Lakers miss the playoffs and Bryant retires, which means Kobe is 25 percent correct with what he said.

Slam Online suggested that even if Kobe is giving Mitch Kupchak and Byron Scott the "silent treatment" with regards to the team's recent draft picks and free agency acquisitions, he is "happy" with the Lakers' current roster.

With a pair of young spitfire guards in D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, a freshly healed Julius Randle, plus an array of veteran free agents that are eager to prove their real worth to their old teams, it is easy to see why Bryant was so optimistic about the Lakers' chances and why he agreed with Scott to play the three, or four, position this coming season.

The future indeed looks bright for the Lakers, with or without Bryant. But when talking about the 17-time All-Star's swan song, Scott is just hoping Kobe could stay on the court for its whole duration, not only to give him a proper sendoff but also to set an example to those that he would leave behind.

"You knock on wood that (Bryant) is healthy for all of next year," Scott said early in the summer, as reported by ESPN. "That would be huge for our young guys, because then you're learning from the best."

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers news