Kobe Bryant threw down his first dunk of the NBA season since returning from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles’ tendon.

Kobe’s dunk came midway through the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game with the Phoenix Suns, which marked Bryant’s second game back. He got a pass from Pau Gasol in the post, faced up on P.J. Tucker and then drove past him baseline and finished with the jam.

While it was great to see Kobe dunk, he really didn’t have the same explosiveness that we’re used to seeing. Even as recently as last season Kobe was dunking hard on fools, but he certainly didn’t this time.

Here’s a look at the clearance he got:

Kobe Bryant is a perfectionist. The 35-year-old made his season debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, and you might assume he would go easy on himself after having to work so hard to recover from an Achilles injury. Instead, Kobe was his typically honest self with reporters during his first postgame press conference of the year.

Bryant finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes. He was just 2-for-9 from the floor and obviously was plenty rusty. However, he was most upset with himself for turning the ball over eight times.

“I failed miserably at that,” Koobe said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “That was really the biggest thing for me, just trying to take care of the basketball, because I know I’m going to be in charge of making some decisions out there. … Basketballwise, I’m not happy.

“My rhythm is completely out of sync in terms of being able to read passing lanes and judge the timing of players in between those lanes and so forth. But I guess it’s a start. I guess a start is good.”

At one point, Kobe was asked if he feels he has been reborn in a new form now that he has overcome the injury.

“Well, right now my form is a horse sh– form,” Kobe joked, much to the delight of the reporters in the room.

Classic Kobe. Bryant is not going to be impressed with himself if he’s simply able to contribute after recovering from a devastating injury. He needs to play at a high level in order to be satisfied. He also needs to play at a high level in order for the Lakers to succeed. We fully expect him to get better as the season progresses.

Kobe Bryant could make his much-anticipated return Friday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Sacramento Kings. Though Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni continued to preach caution, he said Bryant could play if his body responds well to practice this week. The Lakers, who don’t play until Friday, will practice Tuesday through Thursday.

“We’ll see Tuesday and go from there,” D’Antoni said Sunday before the Lakers lost 114-108 to the Portland Trail Blazers. “Three days of practice, then we’ll evaluate him. It might happen; it might not. The only way we will be able to evaluate is to let these three days go by and check him out.”

Bryant hasn’t played since tearing his Achilles last April. Despite that, the Lakers felt confident enough to sign him to a two-year, $48.5-million extension last week. Bryant didn’t speak with the media Sunday night.

If not Friday, Bryant could return when the Lakers host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Staples Center.

Point guard Steve Nash is also expected to practice with the team Tuesday. Nash has missed the past 10 games due to nerve root irritation in his back.

With Jordan Farmar, one of the team’s most productive players this season, having suffered a moderate hamstring injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss, Nash’s return becomes more urgent.