It's a good read and well worth your time (Bryant compares himself to Mozart at one point), but if you have laundry that needs folding and animals that need to write their names in the snowbanks outside, here's an interesting morsel to tide you over: Bryant says he doesn't have any friends.
Speaking with the Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard prior to his season-ending rotator cuff injury, Klosterman asked if his obsessive qualities left any room for friendship in his life.
Bryant's response amounts to a "Not really." He said he's the type of person who gets too caught up in The Work to maintain relationships with any consistency:
I have "like minds." You know, I've been fortunate to play in Los Angeles, where there are a lot of people like me. Actors. Musicians. Businessmen. Obsessives. People who feel like God put them on earth to do whatever it is that they do. Now, do we have time to build great relationships? Do we have time to build great friendships? No. Do we have time to socialize and to hangout aimlessly? No. Do we want to do that? No. We want to work. I enjoy working.
Klosterman pressed further, asking if Bryant chooses to avoid friendship. Bryant responded by saying he's never been the type to play buddy-buddy:
Well, yes and no. I have friends. But being a "great friend" is something I will never be. I can be a "good" friend. But not a "great" friend. A great friend will call you every day and remember your birthday. I'll get so wrapped up in my s--t, I'll never remember that stuff. And the people who are my friends understand this, and they're usually the same way. You gravitate toward people who are like you. But the kind of relationships you see in movies—that's impo...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
