Kobe doesn't care where LeBron plays

Kobe Bryant, in a private moment at Staples Center yesterday, didn't care to hear the name LeBron James, who is stealing attention from the NBA Finals because of his impending summer free-agency drama.

Bryant is consumed with one item — a fifth championship — not the soap opera surrounding King James, who wears a crown but not a ring.

Bryant is three wins away after a flawless 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist outing in Game 1 on Thursday lifted the Lakers to a 102-89 win over the Celtics and a 1-0 lead over the Celtics.

"You're asking me if LeBron is going to New York?" Bryant told The Post. "I'm trying to tell you in a polite way, I don't give a [bleep].

"I think he's a better and a more well-rounded total basketball player," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said at a charity event in which a community center blocks from the arena was dedicated by NBA Cares.

"And that includes leadership, teammate skills, things you get better at as you mature. Five, six years ago, he was off the charts athletically. Today he's still incredibly athletic but not as athletic as 26. When you look at the total package, yes, he's better now."



"As a fan, it's a big deal," Kobe added. "You're talking about LeBron and Dwyane Wade, it's two huge names changing cities. It alters things drastically in the NBA. But I really don't care about it."

Byron Scott, now an ESPN broadcaster, was standing with Bryant and cracked up.

"Why are people talking about LeBron anyway?" Scott said. "Let me tell you something. From me just knowing Kobe, he doesn't give a [bleep] what everyone is talking about anyway."

"I couldn't have said it better," Bryant piped in.

Indeed, it is a strange dynamic at these Finals. Bryant is approaching a fifth championship — one less than Michael Jordan. He is playing in his seventh Finals — one more than Jordan. Yet James is getting more attention even a month after his Cavaliers played their last game of the season.

Last night, CNN showed James' hourlong, much-hyped interview. During the Finals telecast of Game 1, ABC promoted a "Nightline" interview with James to be shown after the game — even though the segment was taped on April 5 and already was aired in May.

During his formal interview session yesterday, Bryant said of the King James' cloud over the Finals: "I don't care about attention. It doesn't mean anything to me."

Fact is, Bryant, despite a sore knee drained in April, despite a healing broken finger, is playing at the highest level he's ever played.

Historically speaking, Bryant is nearing Jordan's plane of greatness. James is nowhere in that discussion, even if he has two MVPs to Bryant's one.

Somehow, Bryant, at 31, is better than Bryant of his 20's. (FoxSports)