Quotes by Kobe Bryant

When you love something, you'll always come back to it. You'll always keep asking questions, and finding answers.

The party's just getting started. This is where the fun starts.

The thing that's most enjoyable to me is not actually beating someone in the game. It's the process of coming up with the blueprint of beating that I enjoy. That's a huge flip, so for me I enjoy building. I enjoy coming up.

Once you open your eyes and start looking around you, you start picking up things that are very obvious.

Teach players the game at an early age and stop treating them like cash cows for everyone to profit off of.

If I panic, everyone else panics.

I was just letting the shots fly. You know, I don't leave any bullets in the chamber.

You have to work hard in the dark to shine in the light.

I grew up in front of these people, and now they are seeing me as an 'older' young man.

Being a leader, it's the art of trying to find the balance, the right times with each individual and what they need at that moment. It requires looking outward as opposed to looking inside.

It's hard for me to grasp the concept of somebody being nervous when I'm talking to them.

I felt like when we came back from the All-Star break we needed everybody to feel like they were part of the team, ... I'm just trying to do whatever the team needs at any given time.

You have to be true to who you are.

We're grown ass men, you don't need to be falling all over the place.

There's a difference between taking a charge and flopping. We all know what flopping is when we see it. The stuff that you see is where guys aren't really getting hit at all and are just flailing around like a fish out of water. That's kind of like, where are your balls at?

I played T-Mac. I cooked him. Roasted him. Wasn't even close.

I've known for a long time that they're a bunch of idiots.

You can't be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say.

I think that game is a testament to what happens when you put no ceiling to what you're capable of doing.

What I'm doing right now, I'm chasing perfection... and if I don't get it, I'm going to get this close.

Friends come and go but banners hang forever.

I focus on one thing and one thing only -- that's trying to win as many championships as I can.

A lot of times things get blown out of proportion in a negative light, especially in the NBA, ... But there are a lot of players in the NBA who really care about the community and want to use their basketball-playing ability for a good cause.

If they want to win right now, I'm all for it. That's all I said the whole time. If you want to wait five years, let me know. My legs aren't as young as they used to be.

It's wonderful for the players. It's a huge challenge and a huge responsibility for us to get our act together, get our butts in gear. Phil isn't going to bail us out because of our mental lapses.

Love me or hate me, it's one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I'm a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I'm loved, for the exact same reasons.

As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don't know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.

The guy said NBA players are one in a million, ... I said, 'Man, look, I'm going to be that one in a million.

I love going one-on-one with someone. That's what I do. I've never lost. It's a whole different game, just to have them right in front of you and be able to do whatever you want.

I don't want to say I'll be back at the top of my game because everybody's gonna think I'm crazy and it's the old player not letting go sort of thing, but that's what it's gonna be.

You just try to take it one day at a time, ... You step on the basketball floor and just play. It's fun. I'm comfortable with it.

When you start training camp, you're building the tools necessary to win a championship. You have to have the patience.

I'm just right down the middle, man, ... It doesn't matter to me. I'd love him (Phil Jackson) as a coach. It doesn't matter to me. If they want him here, he'll be here. If he wants to come, he'll come, he'll coach and we'll go from there.

I was probably born a scorer, but I was made a winner. Whatever works, whatever wins championships, wins games, that's what I do.

The Kobe 8 is about enhanced performance. It's the most comfortable shoe I have worn. It's simplistic but has an edge to it.

I wouldn't say I'm a ball hog. I'm a shooter.

I'm reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.

The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don't have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven't had that fear.

At the end of 2003, my game was complete. Shooting, defense, using the dribble, transition, midrange stuff was all there. Then it was about fine-tuning and trying to improve in each area.

From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best. I never needed any external forces to motivate me.

If you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more.

Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them.

I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

Basketball is my refuge, my sanctuary. I go back to being a kid on the playground. When I get here, it's all good.

Where are your balls at?

If you make it, great. If you miss it, what's there to be afraid of?

You just stay patient, that's all.

We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make sacrifices that come along with making that decision.

I never tried to prove anything to someone else. I wanted to prove something to myself.

Everybody shut up. Let us work.

If you want to make history, you have to do historic things.

If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear.

My brain cannot process failure. It will not process failure.

You want a CEO that understands they need to build a team around them that's sharper and smarter than they are.

There is power in understanding the journey of others to help create your own.

I wanna be the best, simple and plain.

You're my backbone. You're a blessing. You're a piece of my heart. You're the air I breathe. And you're the strongest person I know, and I'm so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this.

I realized that intimidation didn't really exist if you're in the right frame of mind.

It's the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you -- or don't. So don't take it lightly.

Rest at the end, not at the middle.

Despite fear, finish the job.

I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language.

The moment you give up, is the moment you let someone else win.

Serve, don't lead.

You just can't underestimate the power of showing up every single day and doing the work.

I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.

You want me to own a team and deal with these rich, spoiled stubborn athletes, and try to get them to perform? No thank you.

In an individual sport, yes, you have to win titles. Baseball's different. But basketball, hockey? One person can control the tempo of a game, can completely alter the momentum of a series. There's a lot of great individual talent.

Winning takes precedence over all. There's no gray area. No almosts.

Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style.

I like playing for the purple and gold. This is where I want to finish up.

I don't talk trash often, but when I do, I go for the jugular.

If there were camera phones back in the day, the biggest athletes in the world would have had a lot of explaining to do.

The important thing is that your teammates have to know you're pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.

The only thing I'm afraid of is bees. I don't like bees. I'm allergic to them.

Christmas morning, I'm going to open presents with my kids. I'm going to take pictures of them opening the presents. Then I'm going to come to the Staples Center and get ready to work.

I'm extremely willful to win, and I respond to challenges. Scoring titles and stuff like that... it sounds, well, I don't care how it sounds -- to me, scoring comes easy. It's not a challenge to me to win the scoring title, because I know I can.

I can't relate to lazy people. We don't speak the same language. I don't understand you. I don't want to understand you.

Sports are such a great teacher. I think of everything they've taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences.