Reuters/Los Angeles



For all the NBA titles and All-Star selections he has piled up during an illustrious career, Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant wants his legacy to be judged on how he has impacted the sport’s future not the past.
The 37-year-old shooting guard has already established himself as one of the greatest players ever in the National Basketball Association and will be retiring from competition after the 2015-16 season, his 20th in the league.
“I try to look at my legacy and how it impacts the future of the game,” Bryant said on a conference call with international media. “I’m not looking at my legacy from the standpoint of where I fit in with the greatest of all time.
“For me, it’s a moot point and a shallow argument. I think the most important thing and the most beautiful thing is how does your legacy impact the generation of players to come?
“If what I’ve done and what I’ve stood for these 20 years has impacted the players today and the players tomorrow in a positive way, in a way they can then carry that legacy on themselves and impact the generation to follow, that’s much more significant than where I stand in history.”
A five-times NBA champion who has appeared in 17 All-Star games, Bryant has done it all on the court, yet, even as he prepares to take his final bow there are goals to be achieved.
Though slowed by age and a slew of injuries, Bryant has set his sights on making his competitive farewell at next year’s Rio Olympics.
“That’s something I am actually pressing for,” said Bryant, who won gold medals with the US Olympic team in 2008 and 2012.
“Being part of the Olympics is such a beautiful experience. I grew up overseas, I grew up in Italy, so to be able to see how basketball became such an international sport first-hand, it would be a beautiful thing personally to finish my career on an international stage.”
Bryant was sidelined for nearly eight months in 2013 with a torn Achilles’ tendon, then played just six games during the 2013-14 season because of a severe knee injury.
Last season, he played 35 games but increasingly suffered soreness in his knees, feet and back, yet he feels that overall he has enjoyed “a really good relationship” with the basketball gods.
“I think we understand each other really well,” laughed Bryant, who began his Lakers career as an 18-year-old in 1996. “Our responsibility as athletes is to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves ... good, bad or indifferent.
“I am absolutely able to pivot and handle those situations. The injuries that I’ve had, I’ve always been able to look at those in a positive light and learn from those things, and also take advantage of opportunities that come as a direct result.”
Bryant is also looking forward to expanding his role as a mentor for emerging talent in the league while helping to grow the game among youth worldwide. “I will always be around, not just from a Lakers standpoint but also for players around the league, just to be a mentor,” he said. “I’ve done that for a while now and I will continue to do that.
“I definitely plan on helping the game spread and helping kids all around the world understand kind of the metaphors that come along with the game ... everything that surrounds the game of basketball.”  
After battling nagging injuries for years, Bryant is fit but the Lakers are in a rebuilding mode and at 4-23 have the second-worst record in the NBA. Missing the playoffs could leave Bryant rested and in form to become the first man in Olympic history to win three basketball gold medals, should he earn a spot on the two-time defending champion American squad.
Bryant added that he’s not pushing to play on the US Olympic team in Rio. “It’s not something I’m absolutely pressing for but it would be a beautiful thing to finish my career playing internationally. But that being said we will see how it goes.”
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams would also have the chance for an unprecedented men’s Olympic hat-trick at Rio, but for Bryant it would be a golden farewell.
Bryant, a 17-time NBA All-Star, was speaking ahead of his record-setting 16th career appearance in a Christmas NBA matchup, his Lakers hosting the rival Los Angeles Clippers on December 25. He is the all-time leader in scoring for games on the holiday.
The struggling Bryant is averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game this season for the Lakers, with career averages of 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals a game.
“I would have loved to have played overseas but it’s not going to happen. Body won’t let me,” Bryant admitted. “My body has been through a lot. And it’s very easy to forget I haven’t played because of it. My timing is off, my rhythm is off. It was about me continuing my training and believing my timing will come back and that’s what happened.”
Bryant said he expects the megastar trend of the NBA to continue in the wake of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and himself, saying, “I think there’s going to be a player in the next 10 years that’s going to rise above it all.”
As bad as this season is going, the Lakers could be in position for the top pick in next year’s NBA Draft, and that could be Australian forward Ben Simmons, who is averaging 18.7 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game this season as a freshman at Louisiana State University. “He’s a tremendous player. He has got a lot of potential,” Bryant said of Simmons.
But Bryant warned that the Lakers carry a history of success that must be respected by those who would join them. “It’s not about handing over the keys,” Bryant said. “For the players that are here, winning championships is the only goal. That’s the attitude.”
Bryant, who spent some of his youth in Italy, said he plans to be a global ambassador for the sport, naming Singapore and Africa as two of his planned destinations.
“I definitely plan on helping the game spread and helping kids all around the world understand all that surrounds the game and its potential,” Bryant said. “I look forward to visiting places like Africa and teaching the game.”


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