Rotator cuff surgery likely will end season for Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant will have surgery Wednesday on his torn right rotator cuff, likely ending his 19th season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The team announced Bryant’s surgery Monday. He injured his shoulder last week in New Orleans. The Lakers will announce a timetable for Bryant’s recovery after surgery, but coach Byron Scott anticipates losing the third-leading scorer in NBA history for the rest of the year. “Kobe is probably not going to play” again this season, Scott said. “We all know how tough he is,” Scott added after Monday’s practice. “He’s a trooper, so we pray for him that his return will be sooner rather than later.” Bryant’s torn rotator cuff is likely his third straight season-ending injury. He missed the 2013 playoffs with a torn Achilles tendon, and he played just six games last season before breaking a bone near his left knee. – AP