Kobe Focused on Today, Not History

Filed under: Celtics, Lakers, NBA Playoffs, NBA Finals

LOS ANGELES -- The statue outside isn't threatening to Kobe Bryant.



Magic Johnson is a friend, for starters, not to mention a trailblazer whose place in Lakers lore stood alone long before it was immortalized on the steps outside the Staples Center.



Of course Bryant knows that he'll match Johnson's five championships with a win in Game 7 on Thursday and perhaps be known as the best Laker ever. Of course he's aware that he'd be within one of Michael Jordan's six rings if he can beat back these Boston Celtics, thus further legitimizing his place in the conversation about the best player of all-time. And of course he's noticed that there's a historical buzz in the air now that the league's best rivalry has reached the game's last-stop stage.



He just doesn't care.



He cares about one thing. Winning one game.



No one on either side has been as unwilling to discuss the context at hand, the storylines and the sagas, as the uncooperative Bryant. He hasn't always declined with a scowl. He has grinned on occasion, or simply sat expressionless. Tuesday night's Game 6 press conference featured Bryant with both hands cupped beneath his chin, his fingers tapping his cheeks as he did his necessary media work before getting back to the work that really matters.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/06/16/kobe-focused-on-today-not-history/