One of Bryant’s Next Leaps Will Be Into a Marriage

Not long ago, Kobe Bryant acquired a bright and shiny new ring, and it had nothing to do with winning an NBA championship.

Bryant, 21, confirmed after practice Thursday that he recently proposed to a young woman, and that she accepted.

Bryant said no wedding date has been set and would not identify his fiancee, other than to say she is neither an athlete nor an actress.

“She’s my star,” Bryant said.

Bryant’s fiancee is Vanessa Laine, an 18-year-old senior at Marina High in Huntington Beach. Bryant gave Laine a seven-carat engagement ring.

He said that the relationship has been an important step.

“Absolutely,” Bryant said. “I mean, she gives me balance. In the past, I’ve been pretty much all basketball--stressing myself out on that. But she’s providing balance in my life.”

Coach Phil Jackson grinned when asked about Bryant getting engaged in the middle of the Laker playoff run.

“When I heard about it, I walked behind Kobe and took a look at him from behind and he started wondering what I was doing,” Jackson said.

“I asked him if he wasn’t still wet behind the ears--a little bit too young to be getting married. But he said, ‘Naw, I do everything young.’

“He was quite confident he could carry this out, and I’m happy for him.”

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Shaquille O’Neal, the subject of Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy’s public ponderings--Will the referees call fouls when O’Neal bumps himself into offensive position? Will they call him for illegal defense?--didn’t sound pleased by it.

But O’Neal didn’t quite sound off in retaliation.

When a reporter interpreted Dunleavy’s comments to mean that the Trail Blazers wanted the officials to prevent O’Neal from bullying Portland in this Western Conference final matchup, O’Neal nodded.

“Good,” O’Neal said after Thursday’s practice. “That’s what I’m going to do, bully him, then. . . .

“I’m not going to waste my time going back and forth with Dunleavy or guys like that. We just have to go out and play and may the best team win.”

And if Dunleavy continues to complain about the way he plays?

“Good. Good. Excellent,” O’Neal said.

When O’Neal was asked about defending against outside-shooting Trail Blazer Arvydas Sabonis, he brought up the B-word again.

“When his shot is going, you really can’t help out [on other players] that much,” O’Neal said. “But hopefully he’ll be too tired from banging up against a bully for four quarters.”