Magic Johnson had his magnetic smile. Michael Jordan soared to the basket with his tongue hanging out. Kobe Bryant is baring his teeth and scowling in these NBA finals.
Bryant makes no apologies for his no-fun demeanor.
"I just think it's been building," he said Friday. "I've been pacing myself all year waiting for these playoffs to come around. The table is set."
The Lakers exhaled a day after routing the Orlando Magic 100-75 in Game 1 of the NBA finals.
Much of Bryant's laser focus is the result of the Lakers losing to Detroit and Boston in their previous finals appearances in 2004 and last year. He detests losing, and at 30, he is more conscious that winning championships is the bedrock in building the legacy of a player who wants to be among the greatest.
"I just want it so bad," he said. "This time around we're just really locked in."
Coach Phil Jackson said that behind closed doors Bryant is just as quiet and focused.
"You have to stay driven and motivated, and I think it's really important that he takes that leadership role for this team," he said.
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has seen Bryant's willful side emerge before.
"When he's playing as well as he did last night, there's really no pressure on anybody else. You shoot the ball freely, you play freely because if you hit a bad stretch, you'll just go back to him and he'll take care of everything," Van Gundy said. "What the great players do to make their teammates better is they take the pressure off of them."
