Kobe Bryant has said that those who have written the Los Angeles Lakers off this season will motivate the team to be better next year.
The Pacific Division side have been hit by a string of injuries among their starters this campaign, including an Achilles tear and fractured knee for the shooting guard, leaving them bottom in the Western Conference with a 21-40 record.
The 35-year-old told Power 106: "This year, we all know it's been a real tough year for us, right? So what I'd like everybody to do is to really just sit back and just absorb this year. Take it all in.
"Sit back and watch and listen and hear all the hate that's being thrown at us and remember every person that's kicking you when you're down, because next year it ain't gonna be this way. Appreciate it now. Let it sit in now, because revenge is sweet and it's quick.
"You've got to appreciate that and enjoy that and use that as fuel as motivation to basically just shut everybody the hell up. It's that challenge, that challenge that drives us all, I think, and definitely keeps me going."
Bryant has featured in just six games this season, but is expected to be evaluated again later this month to see if he can play again before the end of the season.
Sian Cowper
