Kobe Bryant signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension earlier this week that will keep him with the Los Angeles Lakers through the 2015-16 season.

The general consensus among NBA commentators is that the Lakers screwed up here.

Kobe will remain the highest-paid player in the NBA under the new deal, and L.A. will have to pinch pennies elsewhere on the roster because of that.

Grantland's Zach Lowe called the contract "crippling," writing, "The Lakers are an expensive mediocrity overpaying a franchise star in decline."

Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated wondered why they gave him $48 million now, before showed he's fully healthy. He says the Lakers got sentimental:

"Negotiations for beloved players, past their prime, pit the mind against the heart. Usually, with number-crunching executives at the fore, the mind wins in a blowout. But the heart snuck one out today, as the Lakers handed Bryant a two-year $48 million contract extension, even though he's yet to play a game after rupturing his Achilles. There was no rush to do this, unless Bryant is pulling off 360 reverses in practice, and even then there was no rush. If Bryant comes back from the Achilles in a way that scores of other NBA players have not, which is very possible given his mythic healing powers, the Lakers could have coughed up the same deal closer to the date when his contract expires this summer."

ESPN's Bill Simmons said that Kobe should have taken a steeper pay cut if he really wanted to win a final championship.

Last night on Twitter, Kobe shot back at those criticisms. He said he shouldn't have to be "selfless" for the benefit of billionaire owners, and pointed out that L.A. still has max cap room:

The cap rules players have to be "selfless" on To "help" BILLIONAIRE owners R the same cap rules the owners LOCKED US out to put in #think

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) November 27, 2013

Don't just learn ur sport .. Learn the sports industry #futureathletes

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) November 27, 2013

Btw lakers have max cap space and then some #mitchissharp#bussfamsharp#lakers

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) November 27, 2013

Silly hashtags aside, he's right on a couple points.

The Lakers have room to sign a max-contract free agent next summer, technically. According to salary cap expert Larry Coon, L.A. will have $22.2 million in cap room next summer if they let go of Pau Gasol — enough to sign a guy like Carmelo Anthony.

They could have as much as $28 million if they waived Steve Nash and used the stretch provision on his contract.

Kobe's earlier point is valid too. It's unfair that players are expected to take less than they're worth because owners negotiated rules in the new CBA to prevent themselves from spending money.

We're #TeamKobe here.

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Last year, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel "Leo" Messi competed for the affections of a little boy in a widely popular ad for Turkish Airlines.

The superstar athletes are back at it again this year, only this time, they're holding a fierce competition over who can take the best selfie. The ad begins with Messi texting Kobe a photo of himself in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, causing Kobe to rush to a similarly exotic location to take an impressive selfie of his own. And from there, the race is on:

The back-and-forth takes the superstars to the Great Wall of China, the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and even to the top of snow-covered Mount Kilimanjaro. They ultimately meet at the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, before racing off to continue what the viewer can only assume is an ongoing war to produce the world's finest selfie.

Here's last year's ad, in which Kobe and Leo duked it out to give a boy an autograph on a Turkish Airlines flight, earning Turkish Airlines more than 100 million YouTube views:

SEE ALSO: Lionel Messi Meets A Gang Of Singing Street Urchins In New Ad For Samsung Watch

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Kobe Bryant will return from an Achilles injury on Sunday for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Toronto Raptors.

He announced it with this very long Facebook video.

Winter is coming, or something:

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Less than eight months after tearing his Achilles, Kobe Bryant is officially back in the lineup for the Lakers.

Achilles injuries are awful, especially for aging NBA players.

But work ethic is a crucial factor in overcoming injuries, and no one has a stronger work ethic than Kobe.

Whether it's waking up at 4 a.m., using space-age science, or abusing teammates in post-practice games, Kobe has proven over and over again that he's the hardest worker in the NBA.

He ran on an anti-gravity treadmill all summer to stay in shape without hurting his Achilles.

Source: Yahoo!

He decided to lose 16 pounds for the Olympics in 2012.

Kobe has never been out of shape, but he decided to change himself as a precautionary measure. He told the Guardian:

"With summer basketball leading directly into the season — and I'm expecting to play until next June — I have to take some load off my knees. I've got to shave some of this weight."

Source: Guardian

Showed up at 5 a.m. and left practice at 7 p.m. ... in high school.

Source: SI

Kobe Bryant delivered an absolute zinger after his first game back from an Achilles injury last night.

"I think the last time I had eight months off I was still in the womb,"he told reporters after the game.

Kobe is one of the hardest-working NBA players ever, so this might actually be true.

In a career filled with amazing quotes, this one has to go straight to the top.

Kobe only scored nine points on 2-of-9 shooting in 28 minutes last night. The Lakers lost to the Raptors 106-94 at home.

It will take him a few weeks to get back into game shape, but it's clear that his mind is as sharp as ever.

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Kobe Bryant will be out for six weeks after breaking a bone in his leg, the Los Angeles Lakers announced today.

Specifically, he fractured his lateral tibial plateau in his left knee.

Kobe was still working his way back into game shape after returning from an Achilles tear. Three weeks ago, before the Lakers saw him play after the Achilles injury, he signed a $48.5 million extension that keeps him in L.A. until 2016.

The injury came when he was backing down Grizzlies guard Tony Allen in a game on Tuesday.

It's a personal blow for Kobe, who only played six games in between major injuries.

It's also a blow for the Lakers going forward if Kobe can't find some sustained health. He actually took a pay cut in that extension, but he's still going to be the highest-paid players in the league until his contract runs out.

Here's the play:

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No athlete in North America makes more money during competition than Kobe Bryant who will make $30.5 million this season. But if we consider how much he makes per game, his salary suddenly seems minuscule compared to Peyton Manning.

The chart below is a look at the highest-paid athletes in each of the five major North American sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS) with their 2013 or 2013-14 salary listed below their name. While Manning will make just slightly more than Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, his per game paycheck easily outdistances the others.

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The NBA has gone to great lengths in recent negotiations with the players' union to curb the growth of player salaries.

One place where the top players are making more than ever is off the court through endorsements.

Forbes.com recently took a look at how much the highest-paid players are making in endorsements. 

Those figures, combined with the salaries for the players tells us which NBA players are making the most money and a few of the names may surprise you.

#10 Chris Paul — $22.7 Million

2013-14 Salary: $18.7 million

Endorsements: $4.0 million

Total Earnings: $22.7 million

Career Earnings: $96.0 million

#9 Dirk Nowitzki — $23.2 Million

2013-14 Salary: $22.7 million

Endorsements: $0.5 million

Total Earnings: $23.2 million

Career Earnings: $204.1 million

#8 Dwight Howard — $26.5 Million

2013-14 Salary: $20.5 million

Endorsements: $6.0 million

Total Earnings: $26.5 million

Career Earnings: $123.3 million

Kobe Bryant and Nicki Minaj grace the cover of ESPN The Magazine's music issue, but the singer claims something's off about herself in the photo.

Minaj posted the cover on Instagram with the caption, "When retouching goes wrong."

Minaj posted original images from the photoshoot for comparison saying, "I love my personal unretouched photos where my forehead doesn't mysteriously grow in length."

Do you see a difference?

Still, it doesn't look like the singer has any hard feelings.  

ESPN is the latest magazine to receive flack for retouching. Vogue has recently come under scrutiny for its portrayal of Lena Dunham in its February issue.

SEE ALSO: Before and after GIFs of Lena Dunham's Vogue photoshoot

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LeBron James is just 29-years-old and yet his career earnings ($129.2 million) are already 38% higher than what Michael Jordan made in his career ($93.8 million). LeBron's earnings are also remarkably similar to the career earnings of Kobe Bryant ($127.1 million at age 29).

Jordan's earnings would be a little higher if we adjust it for inflation. In addition, if we consider off-the-court earnings, Kobe and LeBron pale in comparison to Air Jordan.

Still, in a purely paycheck sense of earnings, it is amazing how much salaries in the NBA have changed in 20 years.

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Kobe Bryant is one of the most competitive athletes ever, even when it comes to board games with his young daughters.

In an article by Ben McGrath in the latest issue of the New Yorker, Kobe tells the story of the time he refused to let his 3-year-old daughter, Gianna, win at Candy Land.

He explained that she would have realized he was losing on purpose, which would have taught her a terrible lesson.

The fantastic anecdote, from the New Yorker:

"He recalled playing Candy Land with her when she was three, and confronting the inevitable question of whether or not to let her win. 'You know it's my move,' he said. 'She obviously can see that I can win, so she'll know that I'm not-winning on purpose. Then what's that teaching? So I just play the game, I win—and the kid goes ape s***. She knocked the board over. "Baaaaa!" I was like, "S*** the kid's like me. Damn it.'"

Never change, Kobe.

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There is a black mamba on the loose in Cupertino. 

Kobe Bryant was spotted hanging out on Apple's campus, chatting with lead designer Jony Ive. Someone sent photo proof to Seth Weintraub at 9to5Mac. 

Weintraub says "the scuttlebutt is that the meeting centered around upcoming products."

Apple is reportedly exploring a line of health and fitness products, including the iWatch, which will do a bunch of fitness tracking. It also reportedly has Healthbook in the works, which is an app to collect health data.

It's possible (however far fetched it sounds) that Ive was talking to Bryant about how technology could improve working out. It's also possible Apple would want Bryant to be a celebrity endorser. It's also possible Kobe is just a famous guy that wanted to talk to Apple executives. Or, maybe he wants to follow in Shaq's footsteps and become a big tech guy. 

Who knows!

Photo from 9to5Mac:

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With two championships and four MVP awards, LeBron James is still well behind Michael Jordan who won 11 combined championships and MVP awards.

However, if the Miami Heat can lift another championship trophy this season, James will remain ahead of Jordan's. Through his age-29 season, Jordan had won three MVPs and three NBA titles.

LeBron would also move ahead of Kobe Bryant, another player discussed among the NBA's all-time greats. Bryant has won one MVP award and five championships in his career.

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Apple has enlisted a few professional athletes to test the fitness-tracking capabilities of its upcoming smartwatch, according to Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac.

Apple has tapped notable names such as Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers to test the so-called iWatch under a variety of conditions. Bryant was spotted at Apple's headquarters a few weeks ago and was reportedly there to meet with Apple's design boss Jony Ive.

The development comes as both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters report that the iWatch will launch this October. The WSJ report said the device will be packed with sensors to measure your health and fitness. It'll also come in a variety of sizes. The Reuters report said the iWatch will have a 2.5-inch screen, although that seems very large for something designed to be worn on the wrist. (Samsung's Gear 2 smartwatch has a 1.6-inch screen.)

Gurman has previously reported that the iWatch will be able to detect stuff like hydration levels, sweat, steps taken, and heart rate. 

During Apple's WWDC keynote a few weeks ago, the company introduced Health, an app that will be available in the new iPhone software, iOS 8, that will be available this fall. It's likely Health will sync with the iWatch and serve as a dashboard for all your health and fitness stats.

You can read more about what the iWatch will be able to do on 9to5Mac >>

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Kobe Bryant was recently spotted on Apple's campus hanging with Apple's lead designer Jony Ive. A later report said he was working with Apple to test its forthcoming iWatch, which is supposedly health and fitness oriented. 

Bryant spoke with Bloomberg about his meeting with Ive. He didn't spill anything on the iWatch, but he says he "spent the day talking with Jony picking his brain about product."

In turn, he says:

Jony wanted to know, how do I prepare? How do I prepare, how do I study, how do I view the game. How do you build your game. My response was much like you build products. You think sequentially. Yeah, you look at the end result of what you want to create, but there are so many other little things that go into this massive entity or device. It's no different than building my basketball game. You start with where you want your game to be, where you want to make your game the most unstoppable, or hard to deal with, and now you work backwards from there and you start building it one piece at a time, one move at a time, one counter at a time. There's a lot of similarities there.

You can watch the video here:

SEE ALSO: The iWatch Is Coming In October

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Kobe Bryant did an interview with Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman where he talked about entering the business world.

He's starting a company, Kobe Inc., that will serve as his primary focus when he retires from the NBA. In order to learn about how to building a company, Kobe says he calls well-known people out of the blue to pick their brains.

From Bloomberg:

Bloomberg: "What is this Kobe process. You'll pick up the phone and call people who are leaders in industry and you'll just pick their brain?"

Kobe:"Exactly. [laughing] I'll just cold call people, absolutely. I'll just cold call people and pick their brain about stuff. Some of the questions that I'll ask will seem really, really simple and stupid, quite honestly, for them. But if I don't know, I don't know. You have to ask. I'll just do that. I'll just ask questions and I want to know more about how they build their businesses and how they run their companies and how they see the world."

Bloomberg:"Who are some of the people who you pick up the phone and call?"

Kobe:"You can start in the Nike Family, I cold call Mark Parker all the time. Jony Ive. Dan Wieden. Oprah Winfrey. Recently Arianna Huffington. The list just goes on and on and on and on. Hilary Swank."

That's a pretty impressive list of people from the retail, tech, advertising, media, and entertainment worlds (Hilary Swank made the cut!).

It's a smart strategy, and it's safe to say Kobe can get any number he wants.

Check out the rest of the interview here >

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A YouTube user just finished the final installment of a three-part series of short videos that highlight the play-by-play similarities between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. It's incredible to see just how much Kobe adopted from Jordan's game.

Now, you're probably saying to yourself that any two players with nearly 40 years of NBA experience between them playing the same position are bound to have comparable moves and highlights if only someone took the time to parse through all the footage. This is something entirely different.

Not only has Kobe clearly modeled his moves off of Jordan's arsenal — he's mimicked his mannerisms, too. Everything from finger pointing, to sticking out his tongue while dunking, to talking the exact same trash, if Jordan did it, Kobe's done it, too. 

Here are a few GIFs from the third installment of the series:

MJ:

Kobe:

MJ:

Kobe:

Still don't believe it? Watch the full video below: 

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NBA players losing weight has been one of the most interesting trends of the offseason.

LeBron James cut carbs and lost 10 to 12 pounds. Carmelo Anthony did the same thing. Dwyane Wade says he is lighter than he was a year ago.

These three guys were all drafted in 2003. They were among the five best players in the league for a decade. They were on the Olympic team that restored USA Basketball to dominance. They were at the forefront of every major and minor NBA trend you can think of — from the rise of the superteam in free agency, to the widespread use of the "stretch-4" on the court, to the explosion of the outrageous NBA fashion off the court.

Now, all at once, they're slimming down.

And to answer why they're slimming down, you just have to look at Kobe Bryant.

In summer 2007, Kobe was at the exact point in his career that LeBron is now. He was 29 years old and going into his 12th NBA season. He was also coming off the two best statistical seasons of his life.

That summer he lost 20 pounds. It worked. Over the next three years he won two titles, made the NBA Finals every year, averaged 27 points per game, and missed only nine of 246 regular-season games.

NBA players typically fall apart when they hit age 30. A study in the book "Stumbling on Wins" found that players decline 11% in year-over-year performance from age 29 to 30, 15% from 30 to 31, 22% from 31 to 32, and 35% from 32 to 33.

That wasn't the case with Kobe. While he never returned to the superhuman statistical heights he reached in 2005-2006, he maintained the statistical profile of an elite player from age 29 to 34 — a period in which most NBA players rapidly decline. 

He was slimmer at 34 than he was at 28:

The takeaway was simple: You can extend your prime if you change your body shape once you hit your 30s.

In 2013 Kobe talked about giving Pau Gasol advice on how to stay healthy:

I told him I thought the thing that really helped me out, I dropped some weight. I told him he should probably measure it himself, see if that's something he needs to do himself. As we get older, our metabolism slows, we quietly become a little heavy.

Kobe lost an additional 16 pounds in summer 2012, when he played in the Olympics alongside LeBron, Carmelo, and Wade, among others.

He isn't the only example of an older player finding success after losing weight. Tim Duncan lost 20 pounds in 2012, and he has enjoyed an unusually long third act to his career. Ray Allen, who was picked in the same draft as Kobe, went on a paleo diet last summer and was reportedly the most in-shape player at the Heat's training camp.

But the NBA has a long tradition of imitation, where the rest of the league follows the lead of the perceived Best Player In The World. Just as Kobe borrowed liberally from Michael Jordan's repetoire both on and off the court, the current generation is doing as Kobe does when it comes to late-career body maintenance.

It takes extreme dedication to lose significant weight at a point in your career in which you have already earned over $100 million and are on the top of the world. Kobe, with one of the most vigorous work ethics of any athlete ever, had that dedication, and it helped him play longer than most NBA players. 

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Everyone is being so nice to Derek Jeter right now.

Because he's playing in his final MLB season and because he's been so important to the game of baseball, everyone from his fellow players to opposing fans have cheered for Jeets during games this season. And you know who hates it? Kobe Bryant.

Kobe appears on the new cover of "Sports Illustrated" along with the headline, "Twilight the Saga: The Final Fascinating Days of a Legend."

And while we haven't read the cover story yet — the issue is scheduled to hit newsstands soon — it appears as though the story focuses on the end of Kobe's career.

And one point that he makes loud and clear in the cover story is that he does not want to be treated like Jeter in his final NBA seasons. Specifically, he doesn't want fans who have booed him in the past to suddenly start cheering for him just because he's inching closer towards retirement.

"If you booed me for 18, 19 years, boo me for the 20th," he says in the "SI" story. "That's the game, man."

Kobe also makes it clear that he still thinks he can be a productive player for the Lakers over the course of the next two seasons. And his goal is to prove anyone who says otherwise wrong.

"When I hear pundits and people talk saying, 'Well, he won't be what he was.' Know what? You're right," he says. "I won't be. But just because something evolves, it doesn't make it any less better than it was before."

Keep an eye out for Kobe's entire "SI" cover story, which should hit the Internet soon.

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Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated wrote a cover story on Kobe Bryant this week, and it's full of fantastic Kobe stories.

In one of the best anecdotes, the director of Kobe's upcoming Showtime documentary, Gotham Chopra, asked a bunch of teammates to describe Kobe in three words.

Steve Nash had the best answer. From SI:

"After each interview Kobe would text Chopra, eager to hear what people said. Most answered with some variation of 'the ultimate competitor' or 'killer instinct.' But when Chopra asked Steve Nash, he said something different. After thinking for a moment, Nash answered, slowly, in three beats: 'Mother ... f****** ... a******.'

"Kobe thought this was awesome."

Tremendous.

Kobe is one of the most competitive athletes we've ever seen. He's also from an era when players, for better or worse, maintained the illusion that they were sworn enemies hell-bent on beating each other at all costs. For Kobe, that competitiveness was often channeled against his own teammates. He got into feuds of varying severity with Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, and even poor Smush Parker.

Some guys, like Nash, get Kobe. Others don't. Kobe doesn't care either way. 

SEE ALSO: 18 Example Of Kobe's Insane Work Ethic

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