Kobe Bryant shed 16 pounds to prepare his body for the Olympics followed by another run at his sixth NBA title.

"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,” Bryant said. “I've got to shave some of this weight."



Bryant talked about the experimental treatment he underwent to remedy his ailing knee.

"It did wonders for me,” he said. “It's not just for your knees, but anything arthritic. So, the doctors came up with this [Orthokine] procedure which can act as a replacement of cartilage. For me, the results have been astonishing. I can run. I can train. I can do everything that I wanted to do without limping, my knee getting swollen or anything of that nature."

Bryant, 33, was at first slow to accept the nature of aging and now has come to embrace it.

"I actually enjoy it," he said. "I have some grey hairs on my head, but the problem is that my hair won't grow any more. The ageing thing is something I really enjoy. It's a challenge because you have to adjust some things. You have to change your diet. You have to change the speed with which you play. It's fun to approach that bridge."