here are some exerpts
If it's possible for something in Bryant's highly public life to have gone underreported, he'd say it's the underdog angle. As a youngster, he had to crack the American blacktop courts with a game made in Italy. As a high school freshman, his team went 4-20 – but rose up to become state champs his senior year. He was the skinny kid who turned pro at a time no high-school guards had dared challenge the NBA's Goliaths. He overcame epic rookie-year humiliation in the form of all those air balls in the playoffs to forge a surefire Hall of Fame career by age 31.
"Emotionally, I'll always feel like the underdog – just because I've been that way my whole life," Bryant said. "So it's just something that has become a part of me – that mentality that just stays."
Asked how he could possibly still feel like the underdog now, Bryant recalls some whispers back in 2000 about the Lakers benefiting in their first title run from San Antonio missing injured Tim Duncan. Bryant narrows his eyes now to lock in on anyone who might remember Boston lost Kevin Garnett to injury and soon its title defense last spring. "So it's time to prove ourselves all over again," Bryant said.
Bryant is asked if he is "satisfied" with his career to this point. His answer: "I'm very thankful and I feel very fortunate for winning four championships thus far. 'Satisfied' is a strong word. I'm very happy and pleased with where I've come." Asked how he'd feel if he'd managed 10 championships in these first 13 seasons, he said: "Ten out of 13 is fantastic. But there are still three years …"
"The only thing I regret was how public it had to become," he said. "It was something that I'd been dealing with internally for quite some time and me wanting them to make moves, as was said to me (upon re-signing in 2004). Those things were not happening, it felt like I was just out there showcasing and doing my individual thing, and they had no aspirations to spend money to try to bring a championship here.
"So I felt like something had to be said so we could get the ball rolling here. Get people to start talking about it, and the city becomes a little more impatient with the situation, and hopefully we'll get something done. And to their credit, they made a great acquisition in Pau (Gasol) and another great acquisition in Trevor (Ariza). They went out this summer and spent the money to get Ron (Artest) and locked in Lamar (Odom). To their credit, they did the right things."
there is more, but don't want to spoil all of it.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bryant-kobe-people-2620606-feel-championship
