Kobe Bryant isn't about to let a torn ligament in his right wrist make him miss the Lakers' season opener on Sunday against the Chicago Bulls.

"I should be fine," said Bryant after Lakers practice Thursday. "... It's always been in my nature to try to figure out a way to play. The injuries that I've had, I've been fortunate enough to be able to play through them because I haven't had injuries where they could get worse the more I played on them."

Bryant said he will not risk any further damage to his wrist by playing through the injury.

"It's not really going to heal. I mean, it's gone," Bryant said. "The ligament is gone. So there's nothing I can do about it. But I've dealt with so many hand injuries. It should be all right."