Kobe Bryant’s unusual display of emotion during the NBA playoffs is the result of a burning desire to win the championship and not triggered by a hidden agenda, the All-Star guard said on Friday.
Fist-pumping and scowling are regular in the NBA, but not from last year’s MVP, who barely blinks following his game-winning shots.
Bryant said he was not trying to quash debate over who was the NBA’s best player, nor was he fired up about trying to win his first title without center Shaquille O’Neal.
PHOTO: AFP
“I’m just focused and just ready to go,” he told reporters. “In terms of how it impacts my teammates, they probably look at me and how I’m responding to the situation, how I’m preparing, and they follow suit.”
BLOWOUT
Bryant scored 40 points against the Orlando Magic in a 100-75 blowout to open the best-of-seven NBA Finals on Thursday, with the 30-year-old guard abandoning his usual stoicism and playing with the emotions of a rookie fresh out of college.
Although he was stung by comments from former Lakers general manager Jerry West that Cleveland’s LeBron James was now the league’s premier player, Bryant said he was not trying to prove anything.
“I just want it so bad,” said Bryant, aiming for his fourth title. “The last two times we’ve been to the finals we came up short. This time around we’re just really locked in.”
Some people have said Bryant could never win an NBA title without the giant presence of O’Neal, one of the league’s all-time great centers and a teammate for eight seasons with the Lakers.
“Not at all,” the guard growled when a reporter asked if that played a part in his animated play.
GRUMPY GROUCH
But he did concede his kids “are calling me Grumpy from the Seven Dwarfs. A grouch.”
Bryant admitted he would like redemption for the Lakers’ six-game loss to the Boston Celtics in last year’s finals.
Setting about that task in the best possible manner, the 11-times All-Star hit 16-of-34 shots against the Magic on Thursday, adding eight rebounds and eight assists.
The star-studded sellout crowd of 19,000 at the Staples Center roared its approval, Bryant’s passionate play even drawing a thumbs up from Oscar-winning courtside fan Jack Nicholson.
Game 2 is in Los Angeles today before the series shifts to Florida for the next three, prior to a return to California for the final two contests if necessary.
Bryant said his emotions had “been building.”
“I’ve been pacing myself all year waiting for these playoffs to come around,” he said. “The table is set.”
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