Kobe Bryant Is Not Phased By ‘Media Cycle’

By MH
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Updated: October 22, 2014

Following the ESPN Magazine article which cited Kobe Bryant as the 40th best player in the NBA, the Lakers superstar discusses how he really feels about the “media cycle.”

Bryant says he has learned and analyzed the “ebb and flow” of the media over the past 19 years and it has given him the perspective he needs to decide if (when) he wants to react to the criticism and when to let it go.

In regards to the suggestion that Kobe Bryant was part of the reason the Lakers decline, Bryant responded with a very diplomatic answer. He told Jovan Buha, of ESPN.com, this:

“It’s not the first one and it won’t be the last one,” Bryant said following the Lakers’ 114-108 preseason overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. “One thing I’ve come to understand over the years is that you’ll have a bad story that comes out on a Monday and it seems like it’s the end of the world and it seems like everybody’s taking shots at you. But time goes by and then you look back on it and it was just a Monday.

“Then you have another great story that comes out maybe a month later, or something like that, and it’s a fantastic story. And then there’s a bad story that comes out one month after that. So you understand that it’s a cycle, and things are never as good or as bad as they seem in the moment in time.”

So why is he so positive about the situation? He gave more insight below

“Stay focused on the bigger picture and things are never as bleak as they seem at the time,”

Jeremy Lin was also asked about what it’s like to play with Bryant and he had nothing but good things to say.

“I’ve said it from the very beginning: What I’ve seen, my personal experience with him, which is the only thing I can speak on, it’s been great,” Lin said. “From Day 1, from the minute I was traded until now, it’s just been constantly him trying to be a leader, being a good leader, a communicator, teaching me, teaching me, teaching me and doing it in a mentorship-type way.

“That’s my experience. So I can’t speak for anybody else, but it’s been great for me.”

Bryant ended Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including several late baskets which helped send the game into overtime.