Quotes from Kobe Bryant

The Black Mamba collection of watches is me: It is my alter ego, so to speak. As I mentioned before, it is sharp, cutting edge and sleek which are characteristics I try to apply when I'm out there on the basketball court.

These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess.

You have to rely on others to have success as a group.

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

I've got four dogs, and I just don't do dog doo. I'm a diva when it comes to that.

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

It never bothered me when people would say, 'You only win championships because you're playing with Shaq.' It bothered me when he said it.

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.

People just don't understand how obsessed I am with winning.

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

I don't think a coach becomes the right coach until he wins a championship.

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

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

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

Can I jump over two or three guys like I used to? No. Am I as fast as I used to be? No, but I still have the fundamentals and smarts. That's what enables me to still be a dominant player. As a kid growing up, I never skipped steps. I always worked on fundamentals because I know athleticism is fleeting.

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.

I've been watching Messi for some time now, and his ability to decide games and keep possession of the ball is amazing.

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.

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

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

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.

Dear Basketball, From the moment I started rolling my dad's tube socks and shooting imaginary game-winning shots ... I fell in love with you.

It really doesn't matter to me. We're just talking about clothes. I can understand what the NBA is trying to do. I love my sneakers, but we're just talking about clothes.

What people see on court is another side of me; it's not me.