A biography for Kobe Bryanthasn’t been written yet.
“These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.”
“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”
“Winning takes precedence over all. There's no gray area. No almosts.”
“I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”
“It's hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I'm talking to them.”
“I'm not the most patient of people.”
“I'm more than comfortable just sitting back and scoring 21, 22 points or whatever and getting 10, 11 assists whatever the case might be. More than comfortable with that. It's just a matter of the pieces that you have around you and what you can do to elevate everybody else.”
“Christmas morning, I'm going to open presents with my kids. I'm going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I'm going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.”
“I don't think a coach becomes the right coach until he wins a championship.”
“The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don't have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven't had that fear.”
“It's disgusting, but my father taught me when your mouth gets dry, just suck the sweat out of your own jersey. There's no bravado to any of it; it's just a disgusting little trick.”
“What people see on court is another side of me; it's not me.”
“Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style.”
“Twitter is great to connect with fans and be transparent. I enjoy that aspect about it. But really, I'm still trying to figure it out.”
“I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”
“It's different from being 21 and you think there's endless amount of opportunities. At 33, the ending is much, much closer.”
“Dropkick Murphys get me going, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana... plus, all the regular hip-hop stuff.”
“I focus on one thing and one thing only - that's trying to win as many championships as I can.”
“People just don't understand how obsessed I am with winning.”
“Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they've taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.”