Kobe Bryant Team Quotations

I just wanted to come out and show my teammates that we could shoot in the building. I wanted to come out and open up the basket a little bit. I wanted to will us to victory.

We are a much better team right now. We are playing really well and executing very well. We are moving the ball and defensively we are working hard, hustling and closing out the shots.

If we're in a situation where I need to put points on the board, then I'll do it. I really do it on a needed basis. I don't do it just to do it. I don't try to go into a game saying, 'this is what I'm going to do.' We've had a couple games where my teammates were struggling shooting the ball. Then I take it over.

It is fun for us as a team to get a win like this. It builds camaraderie and togetherness.

I wasn't even thinking about it. It is what it is. I just move on. I have my team to worry about and getting my guys ready for the game. I just go out there and do what I do.

Any player that was going to come down the lane at that point in time, I was going to let him know that he just can't walk through there. I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that.

It made me feel good, yeah, because we've been through so many wars together. And it feels good to kind of be able to enjoy ... the sweetness of it. And now to be able to move on, for the organization to move on, the city to move on and to focus on building this team, (I) wish him all the best with his team down on South Beach.

I told my teammates to pick up the slack. My hand was bothering me, so it was tough for me to shoot the ball. ... I just decided that I cannot miss these (three at the end).

It's a huge honor. I'm very proud to be a part of the team and us trying to gain back what we feel is ours -- and that's the gold medal.

We played hard tonight. Even the last two games that we lost on the road, we played hard. We just did not come through down the stretch of the game. Tonight was no different. We are a physical team and we got after them a little bit. All around, it was a good victory.

It was a big game for us, ... We are a young team and we had to battle back to get the win.

You got to talk to the team when plays break down, but nothing close to what (reporter Peter) Vecsey or (TV analyst David) Aldridge said.

They are the best team in the league right now. There's not much more to say about what makes them tough --versatility, execution and understanding of concepts.

My hand was bothering me. It was tough for me to shoot the ball. I asked the team to put up the steam a little bit.

During the regular season, we were trying to find our rhythm and I had to shoulder the scoring load. We know we can start attacking teams as a unit and not me going out there trying to score 40 or 50 points.

I absolutely hate it. I just hate it. I don't want to hear any comparisons between me and him. Enough is enough. He had a brilliant career, obviously, one of the greatest careers ever, if not the greatest, and I'm here playing with my team and we're trying to do great things. Just let the past be the past. Just embrace what I'm doing. Stop trying to compare it to what he did. Just enjoy what's going on now.

It doesn't matter whose team it is. But this is his team, so it's time for him to act like it,

I went after it a little bit more aggressively and the team did a good job looking for me. I felt we had to get something going in the third quarter.

You guys are going to make your own assessment. I'm not going to comment. We're going to move on and win games. Shaq and I are going to move on and be teammates and win another championship.

I'm proud of us. We came back and played hard. We got into a big hole in the first quarter but we were able to fight back. Late in the fourth quarter, we were able to make a push and give ourselves an opportunity to win the game. Both teams played hard, it's a shame somebody had to lose.

I'm just achy. You've got to push through it. My teammates talked about doing a better job trying to pick me up sometimes and not having me shoulder the whole load all the time.

We're a really young team that comes into this hostile environment playing against a championship contender. And we didn't play well. I mean, at all. And we found ourselves in a position where we should've won this ballgame.

We are a young team and we played extremely well tonight. We just take it game by game and we are starting to see more success.

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.

Everybody wants to talk about NBA players being selfish and arrogant and individuals. But what you saw today was a team bonding and facing adversity and coming out with a big win.

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.

For us to be the team that got him that historic 10th championship is special for us.

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

I didn't expect this award [the 2008 MVP] would come to me. I'm surprised. I've played pretty well in other seasons. Our team hasn't been as good. Things just fell into place.

I wear the number 10 Jersey for the US National Team in honour of the Greatest athlete I have ever seen: Messi.

It's not important to me at all. I really could care less. It's just out of necessity. The team needs me to do it to get through a tough point in the season. It's all that is, no more, no less.