Not winning a sixth ring bugs him, sure, but Kobe Bryant says he is at peace with the five NBA titles he accumulated during a 20-year career.
The debacle in the 2004 Finals remains a sore point for Bean, but he feels as though he’s done everything humanly possible to win championships for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant, 37, says he has no regrets about the way things turned out.
Per the LA Daily News:
“It still eats at me. Absolutely does,” Bryant said. “I’m upset that I gave Richard Hamilton something to brag about. Up until that point, he never beat me. That just kills me.” […] So much that Bryant has contended that he should have won seven NBA championships in five, considering the Lakers lost both to Detroit in the 2004 NBA Finals and to Boston in the 2008 NBA Finals. Nonetheless, Bryant insisted that he will walk away from his 20-year NBA career fully satisfied with five NBA championships.
“Listen, I worked as hard as I [expletive] could,” Bryant said following Saturday’s practice at Georgia Tech University. “I did everything I could. I’m fine with that.”
But what about Bryant not having the chance to tie or surpass Michael Jordan’s six NBA championships? Or the chance to come close toward matching Bill Russell’s 11 NBA rings? […] “When I came into the league, I knew I didn’t want to have any regrets,” Bryant said. “I pushed as hard as I can. I’ve done that. So I’m completely fine with that.”
