INDIANAPOLIS — Kobe Bryant strode into the Vienna Ballroom on the second floor of the Conrad Hotel on Sunday evening. He slid into a table seat next to head coach Byron Scott, passing up the sofas closer to the projection TV screen where Lakers players were sitting.
Inconsequential as such a choice at a casual Super Bowl viewing gathering might be, it's a reflection of how Bryant walks in a strange basketball netherworld in this final season.
He is a player—a player more celebrated right now every time he is on the court than any in recent NBA history. He also has no future as a player—no playoff prospects now, no desire to continue later.
He is closer in age to the coaches—and takes very seriously how important it is for him to be a coach to the Lakers' young prospects.
But in other ways, Bryant is neither player nor coach—almost never showing up to mandatory-for-everyone-else Lakers practices or shootarounds as he works with Scott's blessing behind the scenes to prepare his body to perform for the sold-out crowds. Even on the road that's the case—and will be again in C ...
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Article written by Kevin Ding
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