Know this much about Jeanie Buss and her perspective on the final chapter of Kobe Bryant’s storied career: she hopes it doesn’t end anytime soon.

In a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY Sports, the Los Angeles Lakers president and governor said she wants the 36-year-old Bryant to sign another contract when his two-year, $48 million extension comes to an end after the 2015-16 season.

“I hope not,” Buss said with a laugh when asked if she thought Bryant would retire then. “I really hope not. I mean I’m a person who watched Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) play until he was 42 (years old). Jimmy Connors played on my World Team Tennis team (of which she was the general manager), the LA Strings, that summer that he went into the US Open at age 39 and made the semis at 39 years old. So I’ve seen it. I know you can’t beat Father Time, but there are those athletes who can transcend the average age of retirement. And if anyone can do that, my money is on the Black Mamba.”

Buss has been the Black Mamba’s Mama Bear of late, defending him at every turn after an ESPN article indicated that some members of the Lakers’ braintrust simply couldn’t wait for him to retire. Buss, who made it clear that she has both the passion and the power to turn the Lakers’ fortunes after these past few subpar seasons, is clearly not among that crowd. She continued to defend the decision to give Bryant such a hefty deal in Nov. 2013, one that was made by her brother, executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss, and longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak.

“Kobe is worth every penny, and I’d never had any doubt that he’d contribute to this team,” Jeanie Buss said. “We have a (salary) cap, but we also have a (salary) floor, and you do have to spend it. This is a team that’s paying $10 million (this season) to Steve Nash, and $9 million to Jordan Hill, so we have those two players for $19 million, so Kobe for $24 million sounds pretty good. Especially since the $10 million player isn’t going to play for us this year (Nash is out for the season, and likely his career, because of a recurring back problem).”

To read the rest of the interview, click here.

