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A year ago, Kobe Bryant wanted out of Los Angeles. Now, he is a team leader who has led the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference.

Fisher has been especially important in bringing a championship glow to this assemblage, because he reflects a time earlier this century when Phil Jackson and the Lakers ruled the NBA for three straight seasons. He has been a calming influence on the once-frustrated Bryant, and he has mentored the kids.

All of that is nice, of course. But there is nothing like doing it on the court entering the playoffs.

The Lakers have been a curiosity on the NBA scene this year. Their rags-to-riches tale has been a popular topic among pundits, who can’t recall anything quite like it — except, of course, for what the Celtics did in the offseason by getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

But in the Lakers’ case, it all goes back to Kobe and his rounds of interviews last year. He is the best player in the game (and he might even win the MVP). He is also the most spoiled. He wants what he wants, without regard to whose feathers he ruffles.

He declared most emphatically that he wanted to win a championship. Nothing else would do. And he wanted out because he knew he couldn’t win one with the team he had last season.

Now there are no excuses. Sure, it would be nice to have Bynum, and even Trevor Ariza. Still, with this team the Lakers smoked both their chief rivals at the top of the Western Conference last week, the Hornets on Friday and the Spurs on Sunday (although San Antonio was without Manu Ginobili). Bryant looks around him now and realizes that he has the reinforcements he needed.

Bryant is the kind of player who can will a team to victory, so long as he has a complete team. He has no peer in the NBA in that department. For all his faults, nobody can put a club on his back the way Bryant can and lead them to victory.

These are the Finals he belongs in. These are the Finals he will come out of looking like a hero.

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