He played just 117 minutes in a disappointing last season that saw Mike D’Antoni jettisoned and Pau Gasol jump ship to join the Chicago Bulls, but Kobe Bryant is as hungry for success as ever.
Kobe will find the Lakers much changed when he reports for duty ahead of his 19th NBA campaign, with Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin brought in on the playing side and Byron Scott appointed the new head coach. There is one thing, however, that he knows will remain unchanged: the criticism he will face if he doesn’t perform.
Far from faze the 35-year-old, this looming sword of Damocles will spur him on, giving him extra fire in the belly as he bids to make up for lost time. In an interview in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, the veteran says that despite being “70 in basketball years”, his determination to be the best of all time remains undiminished.
Bryant goes on to pay tribute to Michael Jackson for his ambition, his willingness to constantly innovate and his ability to shut his critics’ mouths. “When I hear pundits and people talk, saying, ‘Well, he won’t be what he was.’ Know what? You’re right. I won’t be. But just because something evolves, it doesn’t make it any less better than it was before”, the shooting guard proclaims.
SOURCE: MARCA
