Kobe on criticism as a teammate: 'Here's what you get ... seven Finals appearances and five rings'

Kobe Bryant wants to end the conversation about whether or not other players want to play with him, and he provided quite the mic drop Tuesday ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers' season opener.

Asked about an ESPN story that suggested Bryant's demeanor and treatment of teammates is the root cause in the franchise not being able to land another star (see the storyline below), Bryant was steadfast that he didn't think the quotes about him came from within the organization.

As for players not wanting to play with him, well, check the resume.

"It's just silly," Bryant said. "It's nothing I pay a lot of attention to. here's what you get signing up to play with me: Seven Finals appearances and five rings. So that's the end of that conversation."

Count the rings is a decent enough defense in retrospect, but it's not exactly a strong counter to players not wanting to play with him now or in the future. He's not the same player that accomplished those things, though he's forgiven for thinking his resume should speak for himself with such matters.

But hey, if it means we can all stop talking about that ESPN report, then sure, conversation over.