Kobe ‘thankful’ to be in finals

NBA FINALS

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant is staring down the prospect of sharing the court with Superman again. Only this time, it’s Dwight Howard and not Shaquille O’Neal who’s wearing the cape that Bryant wants to tug on.

Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will be trying to win their first NBA title without O’Neal when the finals open Thursday against Howard and the Orlando Magic.

They failed to do so last year, losing to Boston in six games.

O’Neal was traded after Los Angeles lost the 2004 finals to Detroit, leaving Bryant the undisputed leader of a team that won three straight championships at the start of the decade. The two frequently zinged each publicly.

Bryant, who turns 31 in August, is completing his 13th season. Adding a fourth NBA championship to the gold medal he helped the United States win at last year’s Beijing Olympics would burnish Bryant’s still developing legacy.

“You’re thankful to be in this position,” he said. “A lot of players never get to this position once in a career and I’ve been fortunate to be here for six times now. It’s been very, very lucky.”

But there have been big bumps in the road.

Bryant implored the Lakers to surround him with better players in the summer of 2007, then demanded a trade.

The team responded by adding Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, and Los Angeles reached the finals last year for the first time since 2004. Bryant also won his first league MVP award a year ago.

Bryant often talks about his love for his teammates and the ways in which he’s counseled them on improving their games. Derek Fisher’s return last season clearly benefited Bryant on and off the court. They were teammates on the Lakers from 1996-04 before Fisher left for three years.

“He’s continued to recognize that in order for him to accomplish some of his individual goals, the team goals have to match or exceed his own goals,” Fisher said. “That means other guys around him have to perform at a high level. Things he can share with them, he knows how important that is, and how well we take it when he does. He’s done a great job at it the last couple of years.”

And when his teammates struggle, well, Bryant can always just take over games himself. He did so in the Western Conference finals opener against Denver, scoring 40 points and making six free throws in the final 30 seconds to cinch the victory after the Lakers trailed most of the game.

“He’s just gotten more comfortable with where he is in terms of what he’s capable of doing on the floor and knows he can always come back to that,” Fisher said.