The notoriously competitive 19-year NBA veteran is doing his best to stay patient amid a losing Lakers season.
The losses have been piling up for the Los Angeles Lakers this year, but superstar guard Kobe Bryant's loyalty to the franchise has not wavered. Addressing speculation that he might be growing impatient in L.A. amid a struggling season, the future Hall of Famer denied the claims and reiterated his commitment to the franchise Tuesday night.
"The idea of me having no patience is misunderstood," Bryant told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. "I don't have patience when we're not putting the work in, if I see that we're not doing our job as professionals. If that's happening, I'll let my team know about it. But this is not that kind of group. We work. These guys want to get better every day. They're there early working, they're there late working."
Even after the latest win against Detroit, the Lakers sit at 5-13, tied for the second worst record in the Western Conference. Bryant has been a revelation this season at 36 years old, averaging a league-leading 25.8 points per game, but that hasn't translated to victories under first-year coach Byron Scott.
Many around the league suspected the notoriously competitive Bryant would lash out at the constant losing, particularly after ESPN published a story claiming he was "destroying the franchise from within." Instead, Bryant has focused his game and being a veteran leader. Wojnarowski's report paints a much different image than the one published by Henry Abbott nearly three months ago.
"This organization put forth a lot of effort to try and land some of these top free agents. They went for it. I respect that. I appreciate that. Now it's time for me to go out there and do my job -- not whine or complain about it," Bryant told Wojnarowski.
That's not to say that Kobe has never called out his teammates this season, but he's been loyal to the franchise that's employed him the past 18-plus years. There are no plans to leave L.A., Wojnarowski says, and the goal remains to get the Lakers back on track. Kobe seems to be embracing that challenge, even after everything he's gone through.
"A knee fracture, an Achilles' injury and old age -- nobody expected me to be moving the way that I am right now. To an extent, I didn't either. But I've done a lot of work. It's a puzzle that there's no example for. We're trying to figure this thing out on the fly."
Despite all the talk about how Kobe might behave as the Lakers settle into the bottom of the standings, the high-scoring guard is proving he can be patient and work with his teammates through this current stretch of ugliness. Whether it leads to success on the other side is a different question, but for now, the Lakers have a superstar who appears committed to the process.
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