Every game, Bryant has been the first player in a defensive stance, the first guy guarding the opponent in the backcourt, squatting and straining alone in front of his four teammates who have no choice but to imitate him and make it their mantra.
"He gives it his all on every second of every play. You see that and you're like, you've got to do the same thing," said center Chris Bosh. "You see a guy playing that hard, you'll do anything not to let him down."
The players who once shunned him now actually learn from him, drawing inspiration from his preparation.
Every game, he's the player pointing to other players, directing them on both sides of the court, counseling them, cheering them.
"You hear a lot of things about Kobe, but I had no idea he was such a basketball junkie," said guard Chris Paul. "He studies all the film and talks basketball all the time."
"We're good friends, so none of what he does surprises me," said center Carlos Boozer.
The loner has become an embraced leader, and you could see it again Friday in a 101-81 rout of defending Olympic champion Argentina.
Before the game, the handful of players who had competed on the embarrassing 2004 Olympics team in Athens pleaded with them for revenge.
Bryant listened, and came out crazy.
He scored the first points on a reverse follow-up layup. He made the first defensive stop while swarming Manu Ginobili into a three-point miss.
He threw the first big elbow of the game, shoving Ginobili right in front of a whistle-chewing official, setting the tone for an hourlong battle.
"Kobe was the guy; he was like, 'I want to guard Manu,' " Chris Paul said. "He always wants to guard the other team's best player."
It's one thing for him to say that in a Lakers locker room, on a team where he has to guard the opposing star.
It's another thing to say it in a room filled with stars, where he knows that concentrating on defense will hurt his scoring.
"The things he does out there, they're not about putting the ball in the basket," said Carmelo Anthony. "They're about his presence."
Notice something interesting about that sentence?
How many times does a teammate compliment Bryant on something that doesn't involve numbers? Even when his Lakers teammates talk about how Bryant won't let them lose, they are talking about his scoring.
As perhaps the ultimate compliment, Bryant's teammates here are raving about him in spite of his numbers.
He is only the third-leading scorer on the team, at 14.3 points a game. He ranks fourth in steals. He ranks sixth in assists. Eighth in rebounding.
It's not about the numbers. It's about the perception.
Notice something interesting about this column?
As recently as a year ago, you couldn't write a story about Kobe Bryant's impact on a team without talking to Kobe Bryant. His teammates never had much to say.
This time, though, there are no Bryant quotes. There is not enough room. His teammates said plenty.
