Hollywood Reaching Out to Honor Lakers Star Kobe Bryant

Why wouldn’t Hollywood want to honor the Lakers star Kobe Bryant? The five-time NBA champion is set to become the first athlete to have his hand and foot imprinted in a ceremony at the world-renowned Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Feb. 19, it was announced Thursday. Bryant also is taking a turn at acting in a soon-to-be released short film directed by Robert Rodriguez in conjunction with Nike.

Bryant will join actors such as Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Harrison Ford and John Wayne in receiving the cement distinction in front of the theater located on Hollywood Boulevard. “To be a part of such elite company is a tremendous honor. I’m proud to be the first athlete to be recognized,” Bryant said in a statement.

Before the Lakers practiced at the Pepsi Center on Thursday in preparation for Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Bryant added that the ceremony will be “cool” and he has yet to visit the theater as a tourist since moving to Los Angeles in 1996.  It will be a busy NBA All-Star weekend for Bryant, who leads all vote getters after the fourth round of ballot returns. Bryant will appear in the 13th All-Star Game of his 15-season career on Sunday, Feb. 20. The hand and foot imprint ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 19, preceding a gala hosted by Bryant that is expected to include more than 1,200 guests. The Rodriguez mini-movie (it’s eight minutes long, according to Entertainment Weekly) will debut sometime during All-Star weekend as well.

Is Bryant the Greatest Laker Ever?

Move over, Magic; L.A. is Kobe’s town…By Chris Broussard

I grew up idolizing Magic Johnson. Before he even got to the league, he stole my heart from Dr. J with alley-oop passes to Greg Kelser and by foiling Larry Bird in the historic 1979 NCAA title game  He also put together the greatest single-game performance in NBA history. Not only did he stack up 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in Game 6 of the 1980 Finals to lead the Lakers to the championship over Philadelphia, but there’s so much else to consider: the stakes, his youth and inexperience, his switch from point guard to center, the quality and star power of the opponent (The Doctor), the quality and star power of his injured teammate (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). And he did it all as a 20-year-old rookie.

Although I believe Michael Jordan is the best to ever play the game, I’ve often stated that Magic is the one player you could argue was better because he’s the only player in league history who could have played each of the five positions at an All-Star level.  Time to pass the torch. Title No. 5 sealed Kobe’s place atop L.A. 

Magic, along with Bird, saved the NBA. Magic’s charisma, Magic’s smile, Magic’s style made him so cool, so awesome, that you couldn’t help but love him. To this day, he’ll charm your socks off.  But I’ve got to be objective. I can’t let my personal feelings get in the way. I can’t let the fact that I watched Magic as a wide-eyed kid rather than as an adult who no longer idolizes basketball players affect the argument. I can’t romanticize the past, making the heroes of my childhood larger than life, as we all have a tendency to do. And when you take away those factors and subtract the off-the-court stuff — the personalities, the cultural impact, the front-office brilliance (Jerry West) — I’m faced with this conclusion: Kobe Bryant is the greatest Laker of them all.

After Kobe won his fifth title Thursday, Magic said on ESPN that Kobe deserves a statue next to his outside Staples Center. Later that night, Magic told me Kobe is now his equal, although not yet his superior. “The great thing about the Lakers is that we judge by championships,” said Magic, who — along with Kareem, Kobe and crucial role player Derek Fisher — has won a handful of rings with the Lakers. “So when Kobe gets that next one, then he’ll be The Man; he’ll be the greatest Laker. And I’ll have no problem giving him that.”

In my heart, I agree with Magic, the starting point guard on my all-time first five. But when I judge Magic by the same standard that everyone in the post-MJ period is judged by, I have to, albeit grudgingly, put Kobe atop the Lakers pantheon.  Since Michael, superstars are judged by not only how many championships they win, but with whom they win them. One of the greatest arguments for Michael’s supremacy is that, outside of Scottie Pippen, he built a dynasty with a roster full of role players (Dennis Rodman was a terrific one, to be sure, but still a role player). While guys like Ron Harper, Steve Kerr and Bill Cartwright deserve respect, they weren’t in the same class as the championship teammates of Magic and Bird.  So since Kobe came after Michael, he had to hear the “he’s never won it without Shaq” refrain earlier in his career. But Magic never heard “he never won it without Kareem.” Bird never heard “he never won it without Robert Parish and Kevin McHale.”

In each of Magic’s five championship seasons, he had a top-50 player of all time (Kareem). Granted, Kareem, although still a big-time scorer, was 38, 40 and 41 years old for the final three titles. But by then, Magic had been joined by another top-50 teammate in James Worthy, who played on the Lakers’ 1985, 1987 and 1988 title teams. That’s not to mention other great Magic teammates such as Byron Scott, Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon and Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo.

Kobe obviously had an all-time superstar for his first three titles in Shaq. But for his past two rings, he’s had nothing close. Pau Gasol is a perennial All-Star, but he’s not going to make anyone’s top 50. If he and Kobe continue winning rings together, though, he’s got a shot at the Hall of Fame. The significance of Kobe’s ability to start from scratch and build a second mini-dynasty with the Lakers can’t be overstated, and gives him an advantage over many all-time greats.

Magic could do a lot of spectacular things, but he couldn’t play defense like Kobe.  As for the other Lakers greats, Wilt Chamberlain and West won only one ring apiece, despite playing together for four full seasons. Elgin Baylor never won a championship despite playing most of his career with West. Shaq, of course, won three rings in his eight Lakers seasons. And Kareem falls prey to the same argument as Magic (his team was stacked much higher than Kobe’s); Kareem never won a ring without Magic or Oscar Robertson.  On top of the quality-of-teammates argument, Kobe beats Magic decisively on defense. Kobe has been a great defender, earning first-team All-Defensive honors eight times and second-team twice. Magic was never an all-league defender.

Personally, for all his scoring prowess, I don’t think Kobe’s offensive numbers stack up to Magic’s. Magic averaged 19.5 points, 11.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the field and 85 percent from the foul line. Kobe is a career 25-point scorer, but he’s averaged only 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 45 percent shooting. But when you factor in the defensive end, Kobe — the better shooter and scorer — comes out ahead of Magic as an all-around player.

While some might hold Kobe’s subpar performance in Thursday’s Game 7 against him, he still had 15 rebounds and found a way to score 23 points, mainly by hitting 11 of 15 foul shots. Plus, other immortals have struggled in big moments. Magic had so many flubs in the Lakers’ 1984 loss to Boston, including dribbling out the clock at the end of regulation in Game 2, that he was being called “Tragic” Johnson. And Michael shot 6-for-19 and 5-for-19 in two of Chicago’s Finals games against Seattle in 1996.

Of course, Magic and his terrific teammates faced stiffer competition than Kobe has. The Celtics teams they battled were heavy in Hall of Famers, too. But in 1989, Magic’s Lakers were swept by a Detroit Pistons team that featured only one top-50 player, 6-foot-1 Isiah Thomas, and had no great big men. I’d also argue the Celtics teams Kobe lost to in 2008 and defeated in 2010 were better than any of the clubs Jordan defeated in the Finals. But that’s the only thing I’m giving Kobe over Jordan. He’s not Jordan’s equal, and I don’t think he ever can be, let alone overtake him as the G.O.A.T. Michael averaged 33.6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 48 percent shooting while never losing a Finals series. He dominated every Finals he played in ways Kobe has not come close to doing.

But this isn’t about Michael and Kobe; it’s about Kobe and Magic, the two greatest Lakers ever. We can call them 1 and 1A. Just make sure Kobe is mentioned first.  Read the original article on ESPN.

Lakers Beat Celtics in Game 7 to Win 16th NBA Championship

A Game 7 classic and this time, it finally went the Lakers’ way. The Lakers came from behind to win 83-79 over the pesky Boston Celtics and become the 2010 NBA Champions.  Bryant, the finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting, and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.  Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02. Coach Phil Jackson added his 11th, matching Russell’s total and possibly putting a cap on his remarkable career if he decides to leave the Lakers.  “This one is by far the sweetest, because it’s them,” Bryant said after the Lakers beat Boston for the first time in a Game 7. “This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up.”  Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who didn’t exactly show a champion’s poise while making just 21 shots in the first three quarters, even hovering around 50 percent at the free throw line.  Yet with Bryant driving the lane for eight free throws and Pau Gasol finally coming alive with nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles reclaimed the lead midway through and hung on with a few more big shots from Gasol, who had 18 rebounds, and Artest, a first-time champion as the only newcomer to last season’s roster.  “Well, first of all I want to thank everybody in my hood,” Artest said in an ABC interview right after the game. “I definitely want to thank my doctors … my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot.”

Watch Game 7 Lakers Vs Celtics NBA Final

Jackson won his fifth ring in Los Angeles to go with his half-dozen from Chicago. And it might be the last: Weary of the regular-season grind and facing a likely pay cut with the Lakers, Jackson hasn’t determined his future, though he previously said another title would make him more likely to chase an unprecedented fourth threepeat next season, when he’ll be 65.  “I’ve got to take a deep breath. I’ve got to take some time to think about this,” Jackson said, wearing a satisfied grin underneath his championship hat. “This was great. I’ll wait to make that decision in a week.”  With his hands already full, maybe Jackson will follow Russell’s lead and put that 11th championship ring on a chain around his neck—and Bryant isn’t likely to settle for just one handful of rings.  He made that clear to his coach.  “He knows how bad I want him back,” Bryant said. “I’ve been openly blunt about how much I want him back.”  With their fifth title in 11 seasons, the Lakers moved one championship behind Boston’s 17 banners for the overall NBA lead.  Amid the confetti and streamers after the final buzzer, Magic Johnson rushed the court to congratulate Bryant, who now has the same number of titles, and to hug Artest.

Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who just couldn’t finish the final quarter of a remarkable playoff run after a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Garnett(notes) added 17 points, but Boston flopped in two chances to clinch the series in Los Angeles after winning Game 5 back home. “Listen, give the Lakers credit,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “They were terrific.”  Rivers knows changes are coming, even saying afterward that the ’10-11 Celtics will be different than the ’09-10 team.  “We were the tightest, most emotional, crazy group I’ve ever been around in my life,” Rivers said, adding that he’ll wait a while before deciding on his oft-speculated future. He called this team “crazy close” and throughout the playoffs, the Celtics only got closer. Down by 14 in their first playoff game against Miami, they won that night and rode that instant burst of confidence not only past the Heat, but through Cleveland and Orlando in the next two rounds. The Celtics were a .500 team for the final two-thirds of the season, prompting many to wonder if they could turn it back on for the playoffs.  That question was answered long ago. Yes, they could—and one or two more stops on Thursday, they’d have won an 18th title.  “There’s a lot of crying in that locker room,” Rivers said. “A lot of people who care. I don’t think there was a dry eye. A lot of hugs, a lot of people feeling awful. That’s a good thing. Showed a lot of people cared.”

The Celtics had never lost a seventh game in the finals. Despite nursing a lead through most of the night while holding the Lakers to ridiculously low shooting percentages until the final minutes, Boston couldn’t close it out on the coast, becoming just the seventh team to blow a 3-2 finals lead after winning Game 5.  The Lakers tied it at 61 on Artest’s three-point play with 7:29 left, and Bryant’s free throws 90 seconds later gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half. The Lakers forged ahead by five points before Bryant and Sasha Vujacic(notes) hit free throws in the final seconds to keep Los Angeles ahead by at least two points on every possession.

Bryant said he had to downplay the magnitude of the rivalry during the series, but it was a gigantic part of his motivation for this title, without question.  Because it was Lakers-Celtics, the best rivalry in league history. And because it was against the team that denied him a title in 2008, the Celtics then blowing out the Lakers in Boston in Game 6 two years ago for their 17th championship. That loss drove Bryant all last season, and drove him again Thursday night. He was not at his best in Game 7, and acknowledged as much. Didn’t matter— he still captured the finals MVP award, after averaging 28.6 points in the series. He’s won three straight crowns before, and is already eyeing another three-peat try. “Let’s go for it again,” Bryant said, moments before hoisting the finals MVP trophy.

The Lakers will hold a parade Monday, with the team riding floats from Staples Center down Figueroa Street to the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles. A rally at the Coliseum last year attracted 95,000 fans, but the Lakers are skipping the arena in favor of a more interactive celebration, the team said.  The Lakers will relish this title because they took it from the Celtics, their greatest rivals, with fourth-quarter poise and defense. The teams have met in 12 NBA finals, but the Lakers won for just the third time.

Exactly two years to the day after Boston beat the Lakers by 39 points to clinch the 2008 title, Los Angeles got revenge for perhaps the most embarrassing loss of Bryant’s career—even if he did little more than grab 15 rebounds for most of the night.  The Celtics had much more poise from the opening tip in Game 7, playing vicious defense that forced Los Angeles to miss 21 of its first 27 shots. Bryant and Gasol were a combined 6 for 26 in the first half. But forget how it looked, because history will. Bryant even did something Jerry West and Magic Johnson never could: He beat the hated Celtics in Game 7 of the finals. The Lakers are the first team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a finals since Houston did it in 1994, beating the New York Knicks. Although Los Angeles stumbled to the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs last weekend in Boston, Bryant’s teams still are spectacular finishers: They’ve closed out their playoff opponents on the first try 10 times while winning three straight Western Conference titles over the last three years.

Home teams improved to 14-3 in Game 7 in the finals. No road team has won a title in Game 7 since 1978. … The Lakers are 14-1 in a seventh game at home, losing only the 1969 finale to Boston. … Garnett nearly flattened Jack Nicholson when he chased a loose ball into the front row in the second quarter, but the Lakers’ most famous fans got back up smiling. Other fans near courtside included Jake Gyllenhall, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Seacrest, Timbaland, director Todd Phillips and George Lopez in purple-and-yellow plaid pants.

Fisher Ices Game 3 to Give Lakers the Victory Over Celtics

The Los Angeles Lakers won game 3 in the 2010 NBA Finals over the Boston Celtics, 91-84.  Derek Fisher broke down the court after yet another miss by Ray Allen, with nothing between him and the basket. And nothing — not even three hard-charging Celtics — was going to keep the Los Angeles Lakers guard from finishing off a Game 3 victory.  A hard foul from all three pursuing Celtics sent Fisher sprawling to the floor, but not before he laid in his fifth basket of the fourth quarter and converted the three-point play to help the Lakers beat Boston 91-84 and take a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals.  “Truthfully, he’s done it over and over and over again,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored 29 points. “So it’s almost his responsibility to our team to do these things.”

Bryant had 25 points after three quarters, but he did not score for the first 10 minutes of the fourth. That’s when Fisher took over, hitting four of five Lakers baskets after Boston cut a 17-point first-half lead down to one point to reclaim the home-court advantage they lost when the Celtics won Game 2 in L.A.

Game 4 is Thursday night in Boston, and a Lakers victory would put them within one win of avenging the loss to their longtime rivals in the 2008 finals — not to mention the eight other times the Celtics have won an NBA title at the Lakers’ expense.  “Our thoughts are really just still on how disappointed we are, or were, losing that second game on our home court. I think that had more of our attention and focus than what happened in ’08,” Fisher said. “We didn’t doubt our ability to win here. … We understand when you want to be the best, you have to win wherever, whenever.”

Fisher finished with 16 points, and Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had 10 rebounds apiece for Los Angeles.  Kevin Garnett, who had just six points in Boston’s victory Sunday, had 25 in Game 3. But Allen, who had 32 points in Game 2, missed all 13 field goal attempts — one shy of the NBA finals futility record — many of them while Fisher was guarding him. “It’s a hell of a swing, I’ll tell you that,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s basketball. That’s why you can’t worry about it. He’ll be back in the gym tomorrow and getting ready for the next game. … It happens to the best of us.”  The Celtics had high hopes after splitting the opening two games in Los Angeles, but the “Beat L.A.!” chants at the TD Garden couldn’t help them overcome poor shooting.  And it couldn’t stop Fisher.  “Derek Fisher was the difference in the game,” Rivers said. “He’s just a gutty, gritty player and he gutted the game out for them. I thought Kobe was struggling a little bit, and Fisher — he basically took the game over. … I don’t know what he had in the fourth quarter … but most of them were down the stretch.”  Fisher, 34, came into the league with Bryant in 1996 and has a history of clutch shots, from the heave with 0.4 seconds left to beat San Antonio in the 2004 playoffs to the late jumpers in a series-swinging victory over Orlando in Game 4 of last year’s finals. The Lakers went on to beat the Magic in five games, earning their 15th NBA title — second only to Boston’s 17.

“I think as you grow in this game and you put in the work that’s required to still be around 14 years later, you start to recognize that being in this moment, on this stage, it’s not a given. It’s not something that happens every season,” Fisher said. “Five or 10 years from now, when I’m long gone, I would have hated to feel like I didn’t just do everything I could have to help my team. Things have worked out well, and we have two more wins to get to really put a nice cap on it.”

The Lakers opened a 37-20 first-half lead, but Boston cut the deficit to four late in the third quarter and then made it 68-67 early in the fourth on consecutive drives by Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Rajon Rondo. With a chance to take the lead, Allen was called for an offensive foul away from the ball.

Fisher then scored four of the Lakers’ next five baskets to give them a five-point lead with about 4 1/2 minutes left. He scored another with 49 seconds left before being flattened by Davis, among others, and adding the free throw to make it a three-possession game.  “He saw the opening and went and made a very bold play. … It was imperative that it goes in for us to win,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “When he’s got an opportunity to hit a key shot, it seems like he’s always there and ready.”

Allen and Paul Pierce combined to go 1 for 13 from the field as Boston went nearly 6 minutes without a field goal in the first half. Pierce finished with 15 points, including 3 for 4 from 3-point range, but Allen never snapped out of it.  He missed all eight 3-pointers, all five 2-pointers and got to the line just twice. He was spared of matching the worst shooting performance in NBA finals history when Garnett was called for an offensive foul away from the ball in the final minute while Allen clanged another shot off the rim.  “We obviously didn’t expect him to go 0 for 13, but it’s a tough gig for him to run around offensively the way he has to and then have to guard Kobe on the other end,” Fisher said. “I mean, that takes anybody’s legs out. It takes my legs out chasing him. So there are going to be nights maybe when his legs aren’t there because he’s having to work so hard on both ends, but we won’t see 0 for 13 on Thursday night, that’s for sure.”

Garnett matched his Game 2 total of six points in the first 75 seconds of Game 3, and Rondo had Boston’s next three baskets to give Boston a 12-5 lead. But the Lakers ran off eight straight points to go ahead, scoring 32 of the next 40 points to open a 37-20 lead with 9:10 left in the half.  Rondo, who had a triple-double in Game 3, finished with 11 points, eight assists and three rebounds.

Kobe Bryant Hits Game Winner to Beat Grizzlies

Hitting a game-winning shot never gets old for Kobe Bryant.  “Every time it feels like the first time,” he said.  Bryant returned to lineup after missing five games with an ankle injury and made a 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to 99-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night. 

Watch Kobe Bryant Game Winner vs Grizzlies

Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points, including his team’s final nine points. His 3-pointer with 54 seconds left tied the game at 96-all. His game-winner came off an inbounds play 4 seconds after his layup attempt was blocked by Rudy Gay.  “He kept making plays at the end of the game,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of Bryant. “Great players make great plays. You’ve got to give him his due (but) it hurts.”  Bryant’s late scoring spree came after the Lakers had missed five straight free throws and trailed, 95-90, with 2:59 left. He began his nine-point run with a jumper from the left wing with 2:23 to go to trim the Memphis lead to 95-92.

After Gay’s free throw, Bryant dropped in a technical free throw to make it 96-93. Gay scored again with 40 seconds left to up the Grizzlies lead to 98-93 before Bryant’s back-to-back 3-pointers won it for the Lakers.  “Only in Hollywood, I guess,” Bryant said. “It’s fun. It’s my responsibility to make plays down the stretch. I enjoy it.”  Pau Gasol added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the seventh time in their last eight road games.  “Nobody in the world is shocked anymore by what Kobe Bryant does and what he brings to the team,” Gasol said. “He really stepped up at the end. It feels good to have him back.”

The Grizzlies, who lost their fifth straight home game, were led by O.J. Mayo’s 25 points. Zach Randolph(notes) scored 20 and grabbed 14 rebounds, his seventh straight double-double.  Mayo’s two missed free throws with 18.8 seconds allowed the Lakers an opportunity to complete a comeback from nine points down early in the fourth quarter. Had Mayo made his free throws, the Grizzlies would have led by four.  “I’d love to take those last two free throws again,” Mayo said. “I’d love to take them and make them.”

Mayo had a last-second opportunity to win it for the Grizzlies, but his long jumper bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.  Absent from the Lakers lineup for his longest stretch in five years, Bryant scored nine points in the opening quarter, including a four-point play, and triggered a late first-quarter run with two breakaway dunks to increase the Lakers lead to 11.  Bryant last played Feb. 5 and Los Angeles went 4-1 without him.

The Grizzlies took their first lead early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Mayo for a 59-56 advantage and didn’t trail again until Bryant’s game-winning shot.
Bryant, averaging 42.5 points against Memphis in two previous games this season, began his late nine-point run with a jumper from the left wing with 2:23 to go to trim the Memphis lead to 95-92.  With Bryant scoring 17 of his points in the first half, the Lakers built several 14-point leads before settling for a 53-48 halftime advantage.  “We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game,” Hollins said. “But Kobe was better. That’s the bottom line.”

LA Lakers Improve to 4 and 0 without Kobe Bryant

Shannon Brown pick ed up the slack with a career high 27 points and 10 rebounds against Warriors. Kobe Bryant rests his ankle again, but the Lakers continue to win.  The first surprise came earlier in the day, when Kobe Bryant decided he would not play against the Golden State Warriors.   Then the outcome of the game itself was in doubt, the Lakers stumbling Tuesday against the hapless Warriors, who entered with punch line-inspiring credentials of a 14-37 record, 4-22 on the road.   But the Lakers hemmed and hawed their way to a victory, 104-94, another testament to their ability to win without Bryant as much as the Warriors’ inability to win, period. Article written by By Mike Bresnahan

One on One with Kobe Bryant

In a recent Slam interview, Lang Whitaker talks with Kobe Bryant about on basketball cards, TV, the iPad and the chances of the Los Angeles Lakers repeating as NBA champions. Last weekend while Kobe was filming a spot for Panini, I managed to get him on the phone for a few minutes…

Watch Kobe Bryant Highlights

LW: This company you’re doing the cards with, Panini, that’s an Italian company. Do you remember them from when you were a kid?
KB: Absolutely. I had a bunch of Panini cards. I was a big soccer buff as you know, man, and they did soccer cards, so I had a lot of those.

LW: Did they have basketball cards in Italy?
KB: Not in Italy. When I came back to the States, that’s when I really went nuts. I used to have a *bunch* of them, the basketball cards.

LW: Kids these days are so into video games, do you think this thing you’re doing with Panini will help get them back into collecting cards?
KB: That’s the hope, and we believe we have a strategy to be able to do that. We have to breathe new life and try to pump new energy into the industry, so kids nowadays can see the enjoyment or see the fun that you can get out of collecting cards.

LW: Do you collect anything now?
KB: I collect stuff from movies. Movie props, stuff like that. That’s the only kind of thing I collect right now.

LW: What kind of games do your kids play? They’re getting old enough now that they’re probably into some of that stuff, right?
KB: Yeah, they’re into, like, softball, soccer. My oldest one, she asked me to teach her how to play basketball the other day for the first time, and my mouth almost hit the floor. We play board games like Candyland, videogames like Princess Wii, stuff like that.

LW: When you’re on the road for that long, is it possible for you to keep up with like, TV shows you’re into, or movies that just came out, or whatever?
KB: it’s actually easier to do that on the road, because your schedule is pretty much set. At home if you have a lot of things to do, you have to do ‘em. On the road it’s easier to catch up on things.

LW: Do you watch “Lost”?
KB: No, I’m not a “Lost” guy at all.

LW: I’m not either, but I know it’s really popular.
KB: Most of my teammates are, they’re all really into “Lost.” I just haven’t started.

LW: Did you see Avatar?
KB: Not yet, it looks great, though.

LW: What have you heard about the iPad?
KB: I saw that on TV the other day, and that’s pretty phenomenal.

LW: I know Phil gave you guys the books the other day for your trip, and Phil said he doesn’t think you’ve ever read any of the books he’s given you.
KB: I definitely haven’t.

LW: Do you read books on the road?
KB: I’ll read a book. If it’s something I’m interested in, I’ll read it.

LW: And you’re not into Twitter.
KB: Not at all.

LW: Did you see the new SLAM cover yet?
KB: No, I haven’t.

LW: We posted it the other day on our site and people were leaving all sorts of comments on there, which made me wonder, Do you ever go on sites and secretly read up, just to see what people are saying about you?
KB: Not at all. What am I’m going sit there and do that for? I’ve got much better stuff to do.

LW: Today, the Lakers are 38-12. Did you think it was going to go this well, this fast, with Ron Ron coming in?
KB: The thing is, we actually think we should be playing better. We’re doing great, despite all the injuries that we’ve had the first half of the season. But we really think we should be playing better.

LW: How can you guys get better?
KB: I think defensively we can get a lot better. Get a little more consistency with our bench play, but that will shake itself out. But we believe that we have many areas to improve in.

LW: I’ve seen people throwing the Lakers around in trade talks. Do you think you guys will make a move? Are you good with what you guys have?
KB: I’m good with what we have. I mean, obviously the front office has to do their jobs, but I’m good with what we’ve got.

LW: You’ve been around long enough now, when do you know when your team is good enough to win a title?
KB: You never really know, because in the Playoffs, one wrong bounce can change a series completely. You never really know until you actually win a Championship.

LW: Do you think this year’s team can win a Championship?
KB: We’re playing very well, and we have a chance just like anybody else. Obviously, we’re the defending champions, and our stock holds a little bit more value. But at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding.

Article written by Lang Whitaker for Slam. Read the original interview online..

Kobe Hits Late Shot for Lakers to Beat the Celtics

The Los Angeles Lakers are doing their best to forget all those awful memories of playing in the Boston Garden. Kobe Bryant sank the go-ahead basket with 7.3 seconds left, and the Lakers won 90-89 on Sunday for their third consecutive victory over the struggling Celtics. Boston has not been able to make good on the traditional “Beat L.A.!” chant since winning 131-92 to clinch the 2008 NBA championship here in Game 6 of the finals. “They smacked us two years ago,” Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. “It was a big game for us. This is a team that’s going to be battling to be coming out of the East.”

Winners of 32 NBA titles between them including the last two the Lakers and Celtics have met in the finals 11 times, from Bill Russell against Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain, to Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird and on to the current matchup of Bryant facing the New Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. But while the Lakers’ superstar came through in the stretch for them, Boston’s couldn’t.

Watch The Highlights of Lakers Beating the Celtics

Bryant complained of a stiff ankle after Friday night’s win in Philadelphia, and it seemed to bother him during the game. He shot just 8 for 20 but made the big one: making a move toward the basket before stepping back from Allen’s defense and swishing the ball through the net to give Los Angeles its only lead of the second half. “He had a couple of looks before that that were good looks, and he didn’t put them in. We were mystified by that,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who tied Pat Riley atop the franchise coaching list with his 533rd win in Los Angeles. “He told me the next one was going to go in, so we went with him.” Bryant finished with 19, Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Pau Gasol had 11 points and 11 boards for the Lakers, who won their fourth consecutive game. “I didn’t say give me one more chance. I said give me the damn ball,” Bryant said. “I never really give him much of a choice.”
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The Celtics led 81-70 before the Lakers made the next four baskets. Rasheed Wallace hit a 3-pointer — his only basket of the game to stop the run, and it was still a three-point game with less than two minutes left when Bryant hit a pair of free throws to make it 87-86. Allen hit a pair of free throws, then Ron Artest sank a runner in the lane to make it 89-88. The Celtics got the ball to Pierce, who created a little too much space for himself, negating the basket. “I thought I made a good move. I got to my sweet spot,” Pierce said. “I guess the ref saw it differently and he made the call. That’s part of the game. That’s why you have referees.” Allen’s 3-point attempt at the final buzzer bounced harmlessly off the rim. “Ten times out of 10 times, when you have Ray open like that I’m going to give him the ball,” Pierce said. “He got a good look at it. Sometimes it falls; sometimes it doesn’t.” The Celtics fell behind 22-10 in the first quarter, when Bynum scored 12 points, and trailed 40-34 midway through the second before scoring the next 15 points.

KB at Press Conference in the Philippines

After 2 years, NBA MVP Kobe Bryant of LA Lakers, once again visited the Philippines, as promised last 2007 for his Asia Tour. In the press conference in the Manila Peninsula, Kobe states their awaited chemistry of former rival, Ron Artest, whom will be playing with the Lakers next season.  Bryant also gives another vote of confidence that the Lakers will be bringing back free agent, Lamar Odom.

Watch KB at Press Conference in the Philippines

With the warm welcome of his fans at Bonifacio High Street, Kobe gives Php 100,000 to GAWAD KALINGA to support the children to be active in sports rather than vices.   Right on Kobe!