It will be his 12th Christmas Day game. Bryant hopes to even his record- in the previous 11 games he's had a losing record with five wins and six losses.
Sunday's game will also mark a new beginning for the Purple and Gold, as the Mike Brown era officially gets under way.
"We are working hard," said Bryant. "We are getting things down in terms of what he wants to see from us defensively, execution-wise. He is very particular about that kind of stuff, so it's a work in progress for it to become habit. But we are getting there."
Brown coached Lebron James and the Cavaliers for six seasons. But Sunday's game will have him feeling like it's his first game again.
"When it does get here I know I will be excited," said Brown. "To be around this group of guys, to have this opportunity- I feel lucky, I feel blessed, the whole nine yards. But the excitement will also be there like when I was a kid playing in a football game or basketball game or something like that- the little butterflies that fly around inside your stomach."
You can catch the Lakers opener against the Chicago Bulls on ABC7. Coverage begins at 2 p.m.
