Reporters questioned the work ethic of Kobe Bryant to Phil Jackson and the Lakers' head coach gave an unsolicited reply about one of his former players.

''The only person I ever had that hasn't been a worker the fortunate time I've been coaching is probably Shaq,'' Jackson said. ``He's the one guy that didn't like to work. I know Pat [Riley] got him working in Miami, but we had a hard time getting him to work. All the other players, Michael [Jordan], Scottie [Pippen], Dennis Rodman, all those guys that we had, Horace Grant, they were all hard workers in practice. And I've had some more players. I think Kobe has just picked up from that type of energy we like to demonstrate as a team. He wants to lead.''