Bryant Appreciates Support

SEATTLE — If Kobe Bryant ever searched for votes of confidence amid the turbulent times of recent days, he could find them from the coach and the owner of the Lakers.

“I think the guy’s been fantastic, he’s got a smile on his face every day,” Laker Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “I have not seen him have really a down day. That’s something we try as a staff, to keep our fingers on the pulse of how our guys are feeling and just be there to talk to them. Everybody’s been pretty upbeat.”

Meanwhile, owner Jerry Buss reiterated recent remarks in which he said he admired Bryant’s character and felt a sense of sympathy for the besieged All-Star.

“I really think he’s a victim of circumstance more than anything,” Buss said on KSPN (710). “So much of what has been said about Kobe is [increased] media attention. If he were somewhere and doing something else, he just wouldn’t get this kind of attention.”

Bryant said he appreciated the continued show of support from Buss.

“That means a lot to me right there,” he said. “It means a lot to me and my family to hear Dr. Buss step up like that.”

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The Lakers play Thursday in Sacramento, reviving another round of rivalry analysis, as in whether one still exists between the Lakers and Kings.

“Vlade [Divac] and I talked about that the other day,” Bryant said. “We missed those type of games. We were walking down the tunnel and he said, ‘I remember chasing Rick Fox down here because Rick was running [during a fight with Doug Christie].’

“Those were the good old days. But hopefully we can get in the position where we can have rivals in the NBA with somebody. San Antonio or Sacramento would be nice.”