Bryant to fulfil football 'dream' on London trip

LONDON (AP): Kobe Bryant is fulfilling a lifelong sports dream in London, and it has nothing to do with basketball.

Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers are in town to open their preseason against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the O2 Arena tomorrow in the opener of the NBA's annual European tour. But it's the opportunity to watch some Premier League football that has the finals MVP feeling like a child again.

Bryant is planning to be at Stamford Bridge today to watch the match between London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal, one of the highlights of the English football calendar.

"When I was a kid growing up in Italy, my dream was - I used to go to Serie A (Italian league) games all the time, but I wanted to go watch a Premier game," Bryant said after the Lakers finished practice yesterday. "And my mom would never let me go. I wanted to go watch Liverpool and stuff like that, and she was like, 'No, you're not going.' So now to finally have an opportunity some 20 years later to go watch a Premier game is incredible."

Many European basketball fans feel the same way about the chance to watch Bryant and the Lakers - by far the most high-profile team to embark on the overseas tour. However, the performance may not be of the same calibre as watching the team that won its second straight NBA title in July.

Bryant is still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the off season, centre Andrew Bynum is injured and the rest of the team is shaking off the rust from the off season.

play like the champs

"We're a little bit shy of our big guns, so to speak," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "But we'll have plenty of players to showcase."

Centre Pao Gasol cautioned that "it's the first game of the preseason, so it won't be the most attractive game". But, he added, since the Lakers are still the Lakers, "you always have to play like the champs".

Bryant's knee didn't show any adverse effects from the transatlantic flight, as he completed the full practice session at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in south London.

In only his second scrimmage since training camp began, he looked sharp at times. Bryant drained a 3-pointer and fade-away jumper on back-to-back possessions during a full-court game.

"It felt more solid than it did the last time, so it's a good development for me," Bryant said about his knee. "No pain, just a little weak still, obviously, from the surgery."

Jackson has said he only plans to give Bryant limited minutes in the two European games - the Lakers play Barcelona in Spain on Thursday - but that should be enough to make sure the fans don't leave disappointed.

"You always want to play well, and give them something to remember," Bryant said. "So hopefully, I can perform."

What to expect from the Timberwolves is anyone's guess. The team won just 15 games last season, which led to a complete overhaul of the roster that returns only five players.

"We don't know what we're going to get out of these guys," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "They're all so new and they're all trying to learn how to play with each other and figure each other out."