Mitch Kupchak

On Friday, Kobe Bryant got a visit from Lakers Vice President Jim Buss, General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Coach Mike D'Antoni. Bryant is still on crutches, recovering from April 13 surgery to repair a torn left Achilles' tendon. The Lakers All-Star...

Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni will be back next season, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Wednesday. "Yeah, he's back. I think he's done a great job," Kupchak told The Times. "There's been no discussions otherwise. "He's made adjustments. He's been...

Lakers 91, Spurs 86 (final) The Lakers claimed another must-win game, defeating the mighty San Antonio Spurs, 91-86, without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash. With the win, the Lakers improve to 44-37. A victory on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets at...

Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant will be out six to nine months because of a torn left Achilles' tendon, according to doctors. Of course, Bryant is 34 and has spent 17 years in the NBA. He may never be the same player again. Which is why the idea of...

Kobe Bryant has started putting together his bulletin-board material for his recovery as he works his way back from Saturday's surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon. On Sunday morning, Bryant tweeted an Instagram of the front page of The Times,...

Kobe Bryant wasn't at Staples Center for obvious reasons Sunday. But his prerecorded message to teammates hung in the air of the Lakers' locker room after their 91-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. It can't be printed here, the curse words...

The Lakers needed to win all four games in Week 24 to stay ahead of the Utah Jazz. They did -- but in the process lost Kobe Bryant for the year with an Achilles' tendon tear. The week started with good news on the health front. Metta World Peace...

The Lakers (43-37) host the San Antonio Spurs (58-21) on Sunday at Staples Center.  Jodie Meeks will get the start for the injured Kobe Bryant.  Steve Blake will go for the almost-ready-but-not-quite Steve Nash. With the Utah Jazz (42-38) one game...

Dwight Howard offered the solution to this Lakers mess of a season even before Kobe Bryant's torn left Achilles' tendon turned it completely upside down. Play inside out. Slow the game down. Find Howard and Pau Gasol underneath the basket. Let the...

TV cameramen yelled and cursed at each other as dozens of reporters scrambled to get an interview with Gary Vitti. It's never a good sign if the longtime Lakers trainer is the target of a media crush, but somebody had to provide medical details Saturday...

The Times' Lakers beat reporter Mike Bresnahan looks at some key questions as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers deal with the superstar's recovery following surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles' tendon. 1. How realistic is it that Kobe Bryant will be back...

Earlier this season, when Kobe Bryant was in the middle of a mindless streak during which he played at least 40 minutes in 10 consecutive games, his coach could only laugh about it. "I told him they'll put a statue of him at Staples [Center] but it...