Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is expected to be available for his team in their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Bryant, who will be playing in his 20th season in the league, sustained a lower leg bruise during their game against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 13, which forced him to sit out their final three preseason games.

The 17-time All-Star was initially considered doubtful for their season opener, but Lakers head coach Byron Scott said that Bryant looked great when he practiced for the first time on Sunday. Scott said that Bryant was a bit rusty, but he expects his superstar to be 100 percent ready before their game against the Timberwolves.

"It was good," Scott said of Bryant's first practice via ESPN. "It was better than I thought it was going to be after being out for a couple weeks. That's something that he'll continue to work on, and obviously he has another two more practices before we gear up. So I really expect that he'll be able to knock some more rust off."

Reports also indicated that Bryant was already in regular-season mode as he was fired up after two teammates talked trash to him during a scrimmage. According to reports, Lou Williams and Nick Young talked trash, which did not sit well with Bryant, who dominated on both ends of the court after the incident.

"He played well. He was shooting in people's faces," Lakers veteran Metta World Peace said. "The white team was beating up the purple team. And then somebody decided to talk trash to Kobe. That was the wrong thing to do."

Lakers rookie Larry Nance Jr. also confirmed that his teammates during the scrimmage made a huge mistake when they talked trash to the 19-year veteran. Nance also said that the atmosphere during their practice was different from their previous sessions because of Bryant's presence.

"Any time he's in the gym, it's ultra competitive," Nance said of Bryant via NBA.com. "You could tell if you were in the gym. Anybody in the gym could feel it. It was more than just an average day. We were really competing, really getting after it. He looks great."

Bryant, who will be playing in the final season of two-year $48.5 million contract with the Lakers, averaged 22.3 points on top of 5.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 35 games last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.