Kobe Bryant says Achilles tendon feels ‘really, really good’

After a tour of China, Kobe Bryant made a stop in the Philippines on Monday.

“My tendon feels really, really good,” said Bryant at Manila’s Newport Performing Arts Theater at the 2013 Lenovo Manila Tour. “I was really lucky.”

Bryant tore his Achilles tendon on April 12 and had surgery the following day.

“As soon as I did it, I said, ‘I have to make these free throws,’” remembered Bryant, who was able to convert a pair to help the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, despite the injury.

His status for the start of the season isn’t clear but the Lakers guard recently said he has “shattered” his recovery timetable.

“The trainers go with me everywhere,” said Bryant. “Family vacations, business trips -- they’re there all the time.”

Bryant also touched on the topic of leadership.

“Most of the time leaders have to make unpopular decisions,” he said. “I think a lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or to strike that chord. For me, throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear. It rubs some people the wrong way but at the end of the day you want to get results. That’s what it’s all about.”

“Now that I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to kind of temper that, and better understand how to communicate to individuals a certain way,” Bryant continued.

The Lakers open the regular season at home on Oct. 29 against the Clippers.

To a non-basketball related question, Bryant noted his favorite album in the hip-hop genre is “Reasonable Doubt” by Jay Z -- which was released in 1996, the year Bryant joined the NBA and the Lakers.

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Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.