Kobe Bryant's response about ESPN's article

Kobe Bryant spoke with media following the Los Angeles Lakers' overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns and subtly responded to the ESPN The Magazine feature written by Henry Abbott. After spending time calling ESPN "idiots" for his NBA rank through preseason, he was leveled during his response to the damning piece, saying it's more important to "stay focused on the big picture" and that he just tries to "roll with it."

Here's the full quote Bryant gave when asked what he thought when he heard about the article:

"It's not the first one, won't be the last one, right? I think the one thing that I've come to understand over the years is that you'll have a bad story that comes out on a Monday, and it seems like it's the end of the world and it seems like everybody's taking shots at you, but times goes by and then you look back on it, and it was just a Monday. And then you have another great story that comes out maybe a month later or something like that, and it's a fantastic story. Then there's a bad story that comes out a month after that, right?"

"So you understand that it's a cycle and things are never as good, or as bad, as they seem in the moment in time. Stay focused on the big picture and things are never as bleak as they seem at the time. I just kinda' roll with it."

Bryant didn't let any noise following the article throw off his game, putting together a 27-point effort and taking over the game once he checked back in for the fourth quarter.

Here's video of Kobe giving his response via Lakers Nation: