CHENNAI: Christmas day in Phoenix in 1996. The Los Angeles Lakers are in town to face the Phoenix Suns at the America West Arena. Shaquille O’Neal plays 40 minutes as the Lakers romps to a comfortable 108-87 victory. Kobe Bryant plays five minutes and doesn’t get on the scoresheet. But, that doesn’t matter. It’s his rookie year and getting on the paint is more important than scoring.
Nineteen years later, it’s the other end of the spectrum for Bryant, who is preparing for his final christmas game. His 16th – a record for most appearances on the day usually reserved for Santa Claus.
In an NBA-sanctioned tele-conference with some of the world media, Bryant, who announced that he will retire at the end of the season, speaks about his farewell season, how he handled expectations, hopes of a Rio (Olympics) swansong and much more. Excerpts...
On his legacy
I try to look at my legacy as much as how I impact the future, not where I rank among the best players of all time. It’s a moot point and it’s pretty much a shallow argument. It’s about how I impact the generation of players coming in by what I have done. I think it has impacted them in a big way, and they will pass that along to the next generation to come.
Final season turning into a farewell Tour
I feel great. I don’t really consider it a (farewell) Tour, actually. The way this has been going is just beautiful. I am paying my respect to the fans and they are doing the same in return. I just think it’s a beautiful moment that is actually happening, after 20 years of playing... to be able to say thank you to them (the fans) and them being able to say thank you back. I couldn’t have imagined this to be any better than it is.
Handling expectations
The key is loving what you do. That’s the magic of it, man. You know you love it when you actually enjoy the process of it all. If you love getting ready, if you love training, if you love preparing just as much as you love the end result of winning or even more so than the end result of winning, then you know you have something truly, truly special. That’s something that you can’t beat. That’s something you can’t bring out of a person. You either love that thing or you don’t.
What will he leave behind post retirement
I don’t think I will leave anything behind, outside of a physical representation of my 20-year career. The training and the actual act of going out and playing; a show of who I have been for the last 20 years of my life. What carries on with me is the spirit that represents those physical manifestations. The understanding of perseverance, of how to deal with failure, handling success, an
understanding of how to understand others and empathy.
What it takes to be a Lakers legend
It’s not about handing over keys or anything of that nature. It’s really about the player that’s here. Do you have the attitude to win a championship? That’s the mission. That’s the only goal. If you don’t win a championship, the season’s a failure. If you have that attitude, the city will absolutely love you and you’ll get this team back to winning and playing at a level it is accustomed to.
Sepp Blatter’s and Michel Platini’s ban
It’s always a touchy thing. You are dealing with a big business. I think this is an important first step to clean up the sport. With life being as brutal as it is, we come to sport as an escape. When something like this happens, it damages the emotional Shangri-la you get from sport. I’m sure they are on top of it, and I’m sure they will get the sport back where we all want it to be.
Featuring in Rio
That’s not something I’m pressing for, but being part of the Olympics is such a beautiful experience. To be able to see how basketball became such an international sport (he grew up in Italy) for those fans, it would be a beautiful thing personally to be able to finish my career on an international stage. With that said, we’ll see how everything goes.
black mamba picks his best
Players Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Clyde Drexler.
Teams: San Antonio Spurs (every year), Sacramento Kings (early 2000s), Boston Celtics (2008), Detroit Pistons (2004), Chicago Bulls (1996).
Career stats: Games 1,303, Games started 1,155, Minutes played 47,482, Field goals 11,454, 3-point field goals 1,735, 2-point field goals 9,719, Free throws 8,223, Assists 6,201, Points 32,866.
Major honours
Five-time NBA champion
Two-time NBA
Finals MVP
17-time NBA All-Star
Four-time NBA
All-Star MVP
Two-time Olympic
gold medallist