Kobe Bryant out indefinitely after spraining ankle; accuses Dahntay Jones of 'dirty' play

ATLANTA – After crumpling to the court with a severely sprained left ankle that Kobe Bryant called his worst in the past 13 seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers' star guard could miss key games in the stretch run to make the playoffs.

The Lakers are the eighth seed in the Western Conference, and fighting to qualify for the postseason. The loss of Bryant from the lineup – or perhaps even him diminished and playing with pain – could seriously imperil the Lakers' chances.
The Lakers termed Bryant as "out indefinitely."

In the final moments of the Lakers' 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, Bryant missed a fadeaway baseline jumper and landed on the foot of Hawks defender Dahntay Jones. After X-rays came back negative on his ankle, Bryant was livid with what he believed had been a "dirty and dangerous" play on the part of Jones.

In an email to Yahoo! Sports late Wednesday night, Bryant said that Jones "threw his hip and lower body into mine on the shot. That's a foul with 100 percent certainty. Dirty and dangerous play. Doesn't belong in the game."

Bryant believed Jones slid his foot underneath him on the shot, leaving him vulnerable on the landing. After Bryant had brought the Lakers within 93-92 with a 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds left, he missed an 18-foot shot with 3.9 seconds left that could've tied the game.

On his personal Twitter account, Jones tweeted, "…Tape doesn't lie. Ankle was turned on the floor after the leg kick out that knocked him off balance. I would never try to hurt the man." Jones suggested that Bryant's leg kick on the shot initiated the contact, tweeting in his own defense: "Leg kick that makes contact with a defensive player is an offense foul. Period. The NBA changed that rule two years ago. Stop it." Asked if there was a way he could play in Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant later responded in an email: "I don't know."

"I can't get my mind past the fact that I've got to wait a year to get revenge," Bryant said.

Bryant and Jones have history. As a member of the Denver Nuggets in the 2009 Western Conference finals, Jones was called on a flagrant foul for tripping Bryant.

"I think the officials need to protect players," Bryant said after the game. "Period." The Lakers have been playing without All-Star forward Pau Gasol for six weeks. After tearing the plantar fascia of his right foot, Gasol has returned to workouts and possibly could return to the lineup in the next seven to 10 days.

NBA bans its first pair of shoes due to 'unfair advantage'

Though no NBA player actually professed an interest in buying these special Athletic Propulsion Labs vertical-influencing basketball shoes, you have to wonder if there are a series of floor-bound big men, the league over, that just had their Tuesday ruined by David Stern.

This is a press release, and not an actual report from the frontlines, but it's an interesting turn nevertheless.

The NBA has actually banned some shoes (which can be yours for only $300!) due to an apparent "unfair competitive advantage," which will no doubt send the sales of these Athletic Propulsion Labs' duds through the roof. I hope Messrs. Stern and Adam Silver bought some stock in this company before they made it infamous.

[Related: Basketball team faces 'desperate' shoe shortage]

To the release!

For the first time in its 64-year history, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has banned a new line of shoes based on the league's rule against an "unfair competitive advantage" that increases a player's vertical leap. The league's ban on Athletic Propulsion Labs' Concept 1 confirms the company's claims that the shoe, with its Load ‘N LaunchTM Technology, performs as advertised. No professional player will be allowed to wear the product in games for the upcoming 2010-2011 NBA season.

This action comes on the 25th anniversary of the NBA's ban on Nike's Air Jordan shoes, albeit for reasons of their colorful appearance rather than any performance advantage.

Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) was notified by a senior NBA official who stated, "League rules regulate the footwear that players may wear during an NBA game. Under league rules, players may not wear any shoe during a game ‘that creates an undue competitive advantage (e.g., to increase a player's vertical leap).' In light of that rule...players will not be permitted to wear the APL shoes during NBA games."

[Rewind: Trainer banishes Nike shoe]

Shoe companies, for decades, have promoted a sort of "unfair competitive advantage" through their shoes, from PF Flyers to the most recent set of Derrick Rose(notes)-brand adidas that we'll showcase here at BDL later this afternoon. But this is the first time that the NBA has borderline endorsed one brand of shoe being better than another, even if they won't allow its players to run in it.