Black Mamba or Whitesnake?

Kobe Bryant White Hot
LA Times Magazine

It’s almost 4:30 in the afternoon. In the vast Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, everything is in place for Kobe Bryant’s cover shoot: The photographer and his three assistants have been here since 8 a.m. creating a set for the shoot that is swathed in black duvetyn and dominated by three towering light stands. There is even a Kobe stand-in for adjusting the lighting.

There’s a stylist and a seamstress, a groomer and a manicurist, assistants and publicists galore. A woman from Harry Winston is here with a serious pair of diamond-stud earrings Bryant will be slipping on, along with a rack of all-white designer outfits. There’s just one thing missing—the man himself. He’s running late...actually, not running at all. Flying. In his helicopter. From his home in the O.C. He just landed, a publicist assures. He’s 10 minutes away.

“I knew he’d be late,” says the creative director, completely unfazed by the fact that he now has barely two hours to pull off a job that normally takes at least four. And there’s no wiggle room: Bryant has to leave by 6:30. He’s doing the Kimmel show tonight.

Suddenly, there he is—long, lean, in shades and simple gray sweats, a small entourage in tow. Bryant ambles over, smiling and exchanging hugs, handshakes and fist pumps. The stylist shows him the clothes, and they chat easily in Italian before deciding on the first ensemble. The manicurist starts on his nails, while the groomer rubs moisturizer on his face and head. Not the ideal circumstances to conduct an interview, but on this tightly scheduled day, it’s the only option.

Tom Murray: I have to ask, When you’re in that chopper, do you ever look down on the city, pinch yourself and say—
Kobe Bryant: How the hell did this happen? Absolutely—every time. Like I’m sitting here right now. [Nods toward the two ladies primping him.] You know what I mean? This is dream s--t. Wardrobe that’s all white? This just doesn’t happen. Not for me. This is crazy.

Murray: You’re very relaxed. Of course, we’re talking as you’re getting a manicure and a facial before you have your makeup put on. Is this a side of your personality you’d like more people to see?
Bryant: I think people, especially here in Los Angeles, are starting to understand me a lot more in terms of what I’m like personality-wise. I’m relaxed, laid back, pretty funny, smartass. I like having a good time.

Murray: But people don’t often see that.
Bryant: When they turn on the TV or go to a game, that’s not the side of me they want anyway. They want to win a championship, and that ain’t gonna get it done. [Laughs.] Know what I’m saying? Most of the time when they see me, I’m in that golden armor. We all have different personalities. The competition and the nastiness part of it, that’s a part of my personality, too, you know? It just depends on what environment I’m in.

Murray: You take heat because of your demeanor in postgame interviews, especially if you lost.
Bryant: Well, everybody gets upset. But if I’m being short, I’m being short. It’s not like I’m telling people to go F-off. It is what it is. At the end of the day, you play to win. I do whatever it takes to get my team in the best position of winning, and when it’s over, we’re celebrating again with another parade—then everybody is happy.

Murray: But wouldn’t it benefit you if the media in L.A. saw this side of your personality more?
Bryant: It probably wouldn’t be helpful for them, because they have to write and sell stories. And you can’t have everybody saying positive things all the time. It’s just not going to work, even though this is, like, my city when it comes to sports, you know what I mean? You gotta have people on one side of the fence and people on the other. If not, the story’s not compelling. The people who truly know me know what I’m like. There have been people who try to say things that aren’t fair, and I check them. And then they don’t like me because I checked them.

It's a little weird to see the Black Mamba in all white. Plus he never looks that dark skinned on TV but with all that white clothing on, his skin tone gives it a pretty cool contrast. But I wish the photo shoot would have gone another way. For some reason fancy boy magazines always want to emasculate athletes as best they can. Like the time GQ had Tom Brady shirtless, petting goats (which I actually thought was hilarious.) But if you can get past the shock of the Cat In The Hat photos and your hatred of Kobe and read the interview, it's actually pretty good. It at least seems to show that Kobe could care less about the things people say about him. If only myself and the rest of his fans could be as thick skinned.