When it comes to dealing with the media, Los Angeles Lakers' retiring legend Kobe Bryant had some words of advice for Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant: "Appreciate the bad as much as the good".
In response to reporters' queries on how does he feel about the 2014 MVP's recent comments that the media had treated him like "s*t", the five-time NBA champion simply said that he "don't budge on that stuff", ESPN reports.
"I appreciate the good stuff. I appreciate the bad stuff. I would never whine, 'Oh, you're being too hard on me, please stop.' That wouldn't even sound like me," Bryant said during the post-game press conference of the Lakers' 103-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night.
The 20-year-veteran and 17-time All-Star then added, as if referring to Durant, that "I sincerely appreciate the bad as much as I do the good, and hopefully the players coming up now understand that -- understand that it's a journey, it's a cycle, you can't take things personal."
Actually, Bryant himself is his most harsh critic this season, publicly declaring that he is the "200th best player in the league right now" and he "freaking suck", as reported by NBC Sports.
Bryant's shooting percentage is down to 31.1 percent, the lowest of his career even during his rookie year, while his scoring average is just 16.8 points in 15 awful games so far this season.
However, he had one of his better games recently during the Lakers' 108-104 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, shooting a decent 41.7 percent from the field and firing 31 points in a vintage performance.
Meanwhile, Durant had been developing a reputation of being a media basher, which started during last February's All-Star game when he said that reporters "really don't know s*t" when fielded a question regarding former coach Scott Brooks.
He also had a recent altercation with broadcast journalist Stephen A. Smith, calling the latter a "liar" when Smith said that he would most likely consider the Lakers as his final destination in next summer's free agency.