EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant isn't saying goodbye anytime soon.

Sure, he's thinking about his legacy and on what terms he wants his career to end. But retirement is still at least two or three years off and "there's a lot of basketball to be played" between now and then.

The subject of when the 34-year-old Bryant will retire came up again Tuesday because, well, he's been talking about it a lot lately, most recently in a CBSSports.com article in which he reiterated he'd likely only play two more seasons, or until his contract expires.

But as far as he's concerned, he's put an endpoint on his career almost from the beginning.

"I said when I was 17 that I'd be done when I was 35. It shouldn't be anything new," Bryant said, somewhat annoyed at all the fuss. "It's inevitable. It's gotta come. I'm not going to play 25 years."

While it's hard to imagine the NBA or the Los Angeles Lakers without Bryant, it's also hard to imagine anyone keeping up the mental and physical work it takes to play at a high level for as long as Bryant.

"It's always the mental part," Bryant said. "Physically, you know what you have to adjust to. Whether it's a knee injury or an ankle injury, whatever it is, you make those adjustments physically.

"But the mentality of preparing year in and year out, it's been 17 years and every offseason has been more work than the regular season. It's a lot of work."

When asked what he'd do after basketball, Bryant laughed.

"What the hell do I know?" Bryant said. "It's three years from now guys. I'm not like counting down the days. That time will come. It's inevitable."

When that time comes, Bryant said he'll use the way his former coach Phil Jackson handled similar situations as a model.

"I've played for Phil. He's gone through it twice now," Bryant said. "I saw how he managed it. He just stayed in the moment, appreciate each day as it comes. If anything, I think it will be more fun."

But again, that time is still at least two years away. And until then, Bryant's focused on the challenges in front of him, like winning his sixth NBA title, integrating Steve Nash and Dwight Howard into the Lakers' system and culture, and maintaining his own high level of play.

Bryant said he hasn't felt as good physically as he does right now since the 2006 season.

"With all the training I put in this summer," he said, "I feel healthy, I feel strong. I feel ready."

And his most important job, besides preparing himself, is trying to get the most out of Howard. While they've spoken a lot since the Lakers acquired the mercurial center from Orlando in the middle of August, Bryant said most of what he can teach Howard is learned through observing how he practices and plays.