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NBA FINALS: LAKERS v CELTICS

June 17, 2008

Kobe Bryant

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Game Six

Q. We've seen you do the impossible, 30 points in a quarter, 81 in the game, two game-winners against Phoenix. When did you sort of concede that tonight you guys weren't going to be able to come out of the hole?
KOBE BRYANT: Not sure. I don't know.

Q. Is it almost a helpless situation a little bit when you know you're playing a team that's not going to let you get off and you can tell in the second quarter when other guys don't have it to help you alleviate the pressure?
KOBE BRYANT: Well, I think if we're going to learn anything from this series, we can't expect to win a championship by focusing on the offensive end. I mean, we have to be able to hold people down, as well. We're pretty good at it, but I think we can be much better.

Q. How do you make your team mentally tougher next year?
KOBE BRYANT: I think experiences do that. I think once you go through your ups and downs and struggle a little bit, taste defeat, I think that makes you a little tougher.

Q. I'm not sure that you're going to want to commit yourself to anything tonight, but can you just talk about how you see the Laker prospects from here?
KOBE BRYANT: I don't know.

Q. Tracy McGrady said after a game this season in Boston that that was the best defense he had ever seen. Do you agree with that?
KOBE BRYANT: I don't know, I've seen some pretty stiff ones, and this is right up there with them.

Q. Assuming Andrew Bynum is back next year healthy, does he answer a lot of the problems that you guys faced in this series?
KOBE BRYANT: Rebounding and shot-blocker in the middle. He solves a couple of those.

Q. You won the MVP, you led the team to The Finals, how do you characterize the season?
KOBE BRYANT: Well, I mean, the goal was to win a championship. It wasn't to win MVP or anything like that, it was to win a championship. From that aspect, we failed.

Q. A little bit more about the future of the team. If Bynum does come back, does that give you hope this team can get back here next year and win The Finals, or does this team need a shake-up during the off-season?
KOBE BRYANT: No, we're fine. I think what we have to do is continue to work, and that's really the key is understanding that this isn't guaranteed to anybody. There's people who have gotten here before and never gotten back, so it's important for us to understand that, to work hard and come back next year ready to go.

Q. You said Andrew addresses the rebounding and shot-blocking. Those are a couple things. Anything else you feel like needs to be addressed with this team?
KOBE BRYANT: I don't know. I have no idea.

Q. I think it was about a year ago I think I asked you about the Celtics-Lakers thing. You said you've only seen it on TV. Now you've been through it sort of. Can you talk about what it was like, just the Boston-LA thing and playing the Celtics in the championship.
KOBE BRYANT: It sucks (smiling). It was fun. I think a lot of people enjoyed it. I think there was a lot of energy in it. I got a chance to revisit a lot of classic confrontations from the past. We lived those in the series, and the "beat LA" chants and all that stuff, it was fun to be a part of. Hopefully we'll have another opportunity to get this thing.

Q. You embraced Doc Rivers, what did he say to you at the end of the game?
KOBE BRYANT: Honestly, I don't know (laughing). My mind was completely someplace else. But the thing I did catch is that he supports me 100 percent.

Q. You're an 11-year pro. You've lost in The Finals before. Is this one harder to take?
KOBE BRYANT: No, they're all pretty crappy. It's tough, whether it's first round, second round or Finals loss. It's pretty bitter right now.

Q. Your team is young, their team is not so young. Do you think that you can start like a new rivalry from this year to the next two, three years with this team?
KOBE BRYANT: That would be nice. I think it would be an honor for us because that means we're continuing to do something right if we find ourselves in this position in June once again. That would be great.

Q. I know it's tough to say that this is the best defense that you have seen in your career, but maybe in these playoffs? I tell you this because they find a way to a little bit contain you where other teams didn't.
KOBE BRYANT: No, they definitely were the best defense I've seen in the entire playoffs.

Q. The team seemed to have so much positive momentum throughout the season. Emotionally how do you feel having it end so suddenly and having it drop off out of nowhere? How do you feel right now?
KOBE BRYANT: Just upset more than anything, frustrated. But I'm proud. I'm proud of the way that we performed all year. I'm proud of my guys. I'm proud of the effort that we gave. We did a good job. We did a very good job, and we should be proud of ourselves for that. At the same time understand that second place just means you're the first loser. Just kind of understanding that mentality and coming back next year ready to work at it. We should hold our heads up high; we did pretty well.

End of FastScripts

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