It's been a brutal past couple of years for Kobe Bryant, getting healthy enough to play in roughly just a quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers games in the past two seasons. The good news entering his 20th, and possibly last NBA season, is that he's been medically cleared for all basketball activities, as reported by Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.

Three weeks ago, the five-time NBA champion posted a photo on Instagram with the caption "First day back on the court shooting! Bout damn time!!" And now, it appears he has progressed even further in his recovery from a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. When he went season-ending surgery back in January, the team laid out a nine-month timeline for his recovery.

As noted by Forum Blue and Gold's Darius Soriano, the fact that Bryant is on schedule with the initial projection for his recovery does not make the news of his progress any less important.

Bryant has had a slew of bad luck, and will be coming off his third straight season-ending surgery. He has only played in just 41 of a possible 164 games the past two seasons, and the storied franchise's fortunes have taken a dive with him struggling to stay on the court. The last two seasons have been the two worst seasons Los Angeles has had since moving from Minneapolis.

Apart from the team struggles, the 2008 MVP has also struggled to return to his old form. In his last healthy season (one that ended just before the playoffs by a torn Achilles), Bryant averaged 27.3 points and shot 46.3 percent from the field. Since then, he's averaged 21.1 points on just 37.8 percent shooting.

In what could be his final season, Bryant will try and lead a team comprised of some very young talent. Julius Randle will be coming off a season-ending injury of his own, Jordan Clarkson hopes to build on a promising rookie season, while No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell will be looking to prove he was the right selection for the championship-laden franchise.