Kobe Bryant liked to tell people he didn't have time for friends. Not in the conventional way most people have friends in which they talk regularly or grab a meal when they're in the same part of town.
Ever on brand, Bryant even trademarked the slogan, "Friends hang sometimes, Banners hang forever."
Pau Gasol heard him say that all the time.
"Yeah, he'd always say, 'I don't have time for friends. I'm too busy achieving, being the best out there or achieving greatness. I don't have time for the sentimental stuff,'" Gasol said. "He would say that publicly, and there was some truth to that.