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

Bryant: "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."

Bryant: "Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise."

Bryant: "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."

Bryant: "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."

Bryant: "I'm not the most patient of people."

Bryant: "I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.' We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it."

Bryant: "I'm chasing perfection."

Bryant: "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."

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

Bryant: "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."

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

Bryant: "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."

Bryant: "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."

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

Bryant: "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. No matter what the injury - unless it's completely debilitating - I'm going to be the same player I've always been. I'll figure it out. I'll make some tweaks, some changes, but I'm still coming."

Bryant: "If I panic, everyone else panics."