Lakers’ Kobe Bryant staying positive amid struggling season

Kobe Bryant has remained positive, despite all the Lakers losses this season. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS >> The smile has mostly stayed planted on Kobe Bryant’s face, even when experiencing shooting slumps and witnessing youthful mistakes.

His laugh has become warm and infectious when he shares funny stories of an accomplished 20-year NBA career. The losses pile up, but Bryant still sounds giddy about playing, as if it marks the first time he has picked up a basketball.

What happened to the man that seethed seemingly during every loss and frequently growled when teammates made mistakes? Has Bryant cooled down during his final NBA season, considering that the Lakers (11-42) enter Monday’s game against the Indiana Pacers (27-24) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse far from championship contention?

“It’d be the same. Exactly the same,” Bryant said. “It’s just that at the end of the game, I think the outcomes would be a little different, but the way I approach them would be exactly the same. I think it’s magnified a lot more, but even when I was younger I always used to say, ‘A Great White still swims with a smile.’ The killer instinct never goes away.”

That partly explains why Bryant lit into his teammates following a loss in Portland nearly two weeks ago. The losing bothered Bryant, obviously. But he sensed that his teammates became desensitized to the endless losses.

“With us not being as competitive as we used to be, it’s changed my role substantially,” Bryant said. “It’s to be more of a teacher, more of a coach, more of a person and player that understands more and has more patience for the young guys.”

Paying homage

Bryant may not face never-ending blitzes. He may not feel the force of a bulky lineman tackling him. But Bryant can relate to Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, so much so that Bryant appeared in an NFL-sanctioned Manning tribute video before Super Bowl 50 between the Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

“There comes a time where the physical and mental are perfectly in sync and are in tune and things that go beyond being normal for the sports for years,” said Bryant, who is listed as questionable for Monday’s game because of soreness in his right shoulder. “That’s where guys like Peyton and myself don’t succumb to that temptation because we continue to push and continue to learn. You don’t become complacent.”

Bryant shattered the common narrative on why he has remained willing to do that.

“We all love what we do,” Bryant said. “It’s not the fame. It’s not the money. It’s not even the championships. It’s loving what we do. We love what we do all the time. We study all the time. As a result, championships will come.”

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Bryant has won five NBA championships, but he has not won the ultimate prize since 2010. Manning entered Sundy’s Super Bowl having won just one in three appearances. But Bryant downplayed how that narrative should measure greatness.

“Failure is really nonexistent,” Bryant said. “What is failure? When you go to the end of the season and lose a Super Bowl? Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you’re picking apart why you lost, is that failing? I don’t think so.”

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