Itch Kobe just can't scratch

Star forced to bide his time as he recovers for debilitating injury

Walking into the building where he won his first Olympic gold medal in 2008, Kobe Bryant tried hard to control the urge to shoot some hoops after being sidelined for half a year by an Achilles tendon tear.

"It's always a rush (to step on court and play)," Bryant said in a media scrum during the Los Angeles Lakers' first practice at the MasterCard Center in Beijing on Monday.