“I, Kobe Bryant…have decided to skip college and take my talents to the NBA.”
With those words, a precocious 17-year-old phenom from the Philadelphia suburbs launched what would become one of the most decorated careers in NBA history, spanning two decades and a Hall of Fame resume bursting with accolades:
? Five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers
? 33,570 points, third all time
? 18 All-Star selections
? 15 All-NBA selections
? Four All-Star MVPs
? Two Finals MVPs
? The 2007-08 regular season MVP
It was less about what Bryant accomplished than how he did it, with a singularity of purpose that impressed even his role model and mentor, the ferociously competitive Michael Jordan.
But whereas Jordan was an artist, polished and stylish enough to make his success look almost effortless, Bryant — who will play his final game Wednesday against the Utah Jazz (10:30 ET, ESPN) — stubbornly hammered away at his objectives until something broke. Often the opposition, sometimes his own teammates, and now his own body after nearly 60,000 total minutes in the regular season and playoffs.
It’s telling that Bryant feuded with the two most important figures in his professional career, Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson.
But as the following collection of quotes will attest, Bryant never wavered from the goal he laid out all those years ago: To wring every last drop of success out of his career that he possibly could, obstacles be damned.
Lakerland is titletown again
As much as Bryant savored his freedom without O’Neal, averaging a career-high 35.4 points per game in 2005-06, the resulting postseason drought tested his patience like nothing before. At one point, a frustrated Bryant even demanded a trade from the only team he ever wanted to play for. Support would soon arrive in the person of Pau Gasol, who helped the Lakers win titles against Orlando (2009) and Boston (2010), the latter of which Bryant considers the most satisfying of his career.
“I’m so tired of talking. It’s tough. I always dreamed about retiring as a Laker. I just hope something can be resolved, something can be figured out. Just something so I can stay here and be in this city and be with the team I love…because I don’t want to go no place else. I don’t want to. I want to stay here. I hope they can do something.” — Bryant, speaking to ESPN radio’s Dan Patrick, 2007
“We’re extremely pleased to be able to make this trade. Pau is a proven player of all-star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and he’s still a young player. We feel this move strengthens our team in the short term as well as the long term.” — Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, announcing the trade for Pau Gasol, 2008
“It shows a great deal of commitment from the organization. It’s a great step. It’s a matter of us just gelling now and putting it together. We’ve got a great bench. We have a lot of length, a lot of versatility. Now it’s time to walk the walk.” — Bryant, Associated Press, 2008
“We felt like we could compete for a championship with the team we had. With this addition, hopefully that dream comes true.” — Odom, Associated Press, 2008
“I spent seven years in Memphis and I learned a lot. Now I am in a situation where I am very privileged and I couldn’t ask for anything better. The best part is that right away I will have a chance to win. The pressure to win and being one of the favorites is what you want, and something that I have been missing since I have been in the NBA. I love that I have that with my national team every summer, I had that before I was in the NBA with Barcelona and that is what I have from now on.” — Gasol, Reuters, 2008
“What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension. There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense. I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I’d like to elect myself to that committee. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade.” — Popovich, Sports Illustrated, 2008
“This organization has had some pretty significant moves. There was Jerry West (acquiring) Shaq and Kobe. There was Bill Sharman drafting Magic (Johnson) and James Worthy. Before that there was the trade to get Wilt Chamberlain. I don’t know where this ranks, but when we look back 10 years from now, hopefully it’s up there.” — Kupchack, Sports Illustrated, 2010
“You’ve helped mold (the Lakers) into a championship contender, and when we didn’t think you could get any better, you did. There have been many MVP performances this season. But as it’s been said, there can be only one, and that one is Kobe Bryant.” — NBA commissioner David Stern, awarding Bryant with his first and only MVP award in, 2008
“When he’s calm and moving the ball, nobody can beat us.” — Lakers teammate Andrew Bynum during 2009 playoffs, Sports Illustrated
“There’s a trust that we have because we know that he’s trying to win the game. There are a lot of times when Phil will call a play, but (Bryant) will have a feel for what’s going on out on the floor and say, ‘No, no, no. I already got something going.’ Phil trusts that.” — Shaw during 2009 playoffs, Sports Illustrated
“It was annoying. It was like Chinese water torture, just keep dropping a drop of water on your temple. I would cringe every time. From the standpoint of responding to the challenge, from people saying I couldn’t do it without him, that feels so good, because you prove people wrong.” — Bryant on dispelling the notion he couldn’t win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal, Washington Post, 2009
“As difficult as Kobe can be, as demanding as he is, I think (he and his teammates) all found some middle ground, a center.” — Downer after 2009 championship, Sports Illustrated
“I wanted it so, so bad. The more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me. I’m just glad that my teammates really got us back in the game.” — Bryant after shooting 6-for-24 in Game 7 of the 2010 Finals, Los Angeles Times
“Obviously, he didn’t shoot the ball well. But we all understand we all had the desire to win tonight, badly. And sometimes that’s dangerous because it’s a double-edged sword there. He also stuck with it and played excellent down the stretch. He made huge free throws, made huge buckets and that’s why he’s the MVP and probably the best player in the world.” — Gasol after Game 7 of the 2010 Finals, Los Angeles Times
“When we beat Boston in 2010, for me that’s No. 1 with a bullet. Going up against three sure Hall of Famers, being down in the series 3-2, losing to them in 2008, understanding the history and everything that goes on there, having a broken finger, all those things make that championship more special than the rest.” — Bryant on his favorite championship, TNT’s Inside The NBA 2015
Part VII: Kobe’s work ethic | Part IX: Injuries pile up
