Tiger Woods says it has been tough to watch the miserable season endured by retiring Lakers icon Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, 37, announced Sunday his intention to retire from basketball at the end of the current campaign. The 17-time All-Star has struggled so far this season, averaging just 15.5 points per game and shooting only 30.5 percent from the field.
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Woods — no stranger to loss of form having failed to win a major since winning his 14th at the U.S. Open in 2008 — can empathize with Bryant's woes.
"Twenty years in the NBA is more than 20 years in most sports," Woods said Tuesday. "And at his position. I mean, he was a flier. You only have so many jumps in a body and on top of that only so many landings. And the last three years, he's gone through some pretty tough injuries.
"But other than the last three years, this guy was as durable as durable gets. And on top of that, he played both ends of the court. He played on two Olympic teams, all the qualifiers — the guy played a lot of basketball.
"Five rings, maybe seven Finals, something like that. You add up all those games, it takes a toll on the body and eventually it just doesn't heal any more.
"And that sport is so fast and so athletic and so quick — it's just tough. It's been tough to watch him go through the season he's had, and it's understandable — he's been in there for 20 years."