[? In their summary of the conversation, police said Bryant told them that he should have paid the woman to keep quiet -- and mentioned another NBA player who he said had done that. Bryant said the player would pay women] not to say anything, ... treats a woman with respect, therefore, they shouldn't say anything. |
[Bryant said he wouldn't mind playing for Jackson again.] I'm just right down the middle, man, ... It doesn't matter to me. I'd love him as a coach. It doesn't matter to me. If they want him here, he'll be here. If he wants to come, he'll come, he'll coach and we'll go from there. |
[I don't see six rings on Kobe's fingers. Let's say Kobe retires when Jordan will, at 40. That means he'd play 23 seasons. You think Kobe can't get four more rings in the next 16 seasons?] Seven rings, eight rings, nine rings, ... I don't care. I just want to win. Every year. |
[OK, maybe he's not exactly smiling. But Bryant sure seems to be taking his severe ankle sprain in stride. Instead of gnashing his teeth, the 26-year-old Lakers star (and fiery competitor) has sounded philosophical and upbeat in TV interviews.] I think eventually it'll make us a better team, ... It's a positive thing. |
[One friend, 15 at the time, was 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 200 pounds and was] explosive, ... had a thing for her. |
[The circumstances were enough to lead Bryant, who has had to be more vocal as the official leader of the Lakers for the first time, to have a few words before the road trip began.] Before we left, ... I told the guys, 'I don't know about you, but I'm excited about this trip. We all know what people are saying, that by the time we get back from this trip we'll be out of the number eight spot. Well, this is our chance. Let's do something special.' |
A lot of times things get blown out of proportion in a negative light, especially in the NBA, ... But there are a lot of players in the NBA who really care about the community and want to use their basketball-playing ability for a good cause. |
a real cool guy. |
Absolutely. I'd trade it in a heartbeat. It's about getting to that elite level. That's what my career is about. |
Against them, you have to play hard on defense. You have to rotate hard, rotate quick and rotate well. |
All in all, we feel like we're playing extremely well. |
And now the shoe's on the other foot. When I was going through it, I wanted people to be patient with me. I'm just reciprocating. |
Any player that was going to come down the lane at that point in time, I was going to let him know that he just can't walk through there. I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that. |
As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don't know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be. |
At the end of the season, here we are - playing our best basketball. |