Bryant reaches out, and the fans give him a hand

As All-Star weekend drew to a close, after the town rolled out the red carpet and every name from Wayne Newton to Toni Braxton, two syllables filled the Thomas & Mack Center: “Ko-be, Ko-be.”

It’s fitting that Kobe Bryant emerged as the star of stars here. In a town that’s always reinventing itself, Bryant’s All-Star most valuable player award put the stamp of approval on his latest incarnation as superstar looking to regain his standing after those image-killing summers of 2003 and 2004.

All signs point toward redemption, from the league-leading sales of his new No. 24 jersey at the NBA store to his well-received MVP award Sunday, a stark contrast to the boos he heard when he won it in his hometown of Philadelphia in 2002.

“To hear the chants, it makes you feel good,” Bryant said. “It makes you feel really, really good. It’s humbling.”

(Bryant doesn’t get the comeback award for this weekend, however. That goes to Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy, just for successfully walking out to half court with Siegfried to welcome everyone to the game three years after he was mauled by a tiger.)

Bryant seemed to be everywhere this weekend. He made a promotional appearance at the Las Vegas Boys & Girls Club, where he posed for pictures and took questions from 75 kids. He opened the All-Star Saturday festivities by introducing the Rat Pack impersonators, then participated in the skills competition and judged the dunk contest. Later that night, he received an award at the Players Assn. party.

Sunday morning, he even gave a speech as part of a tribute to the ABA -- a little strange, since Bryant was born after the league’s demise.

It’s a far cry from the Bryant who used to frustrate league officials because of his reluctance to make extra appearances. About the only thing he said no to was wearing an Elvis wig as the other All-Stars did when they sang “Viva Las Vegas” for a video that played during a timeout.

It still takes some getting used to, this notion of Bryant’s thinking of others first. But he realizes now that less can be more, that ultimately the public is more forgiving when the team wins. That’s why I’ll take this season of lowered scoring and more victories over last year’s scoring binge.

On Friday, Bryant went off on an unprompted tack that sounded as close as you’ll get to an admission that he messed up by not keeping Shaquille O’Neal in town.

“It’s kind of a different philosophy,” Bryant said. “When I look at them now, I look at a Steve Nash or a [Dirk] Nowitzki, I look at the whole picture. I look at what they’re surrounded by. I look how they play together. Now when I look at it, it’s like, ‘Man, I want that.’ Because I want to be that team that’s the favorite team. I want to get to that point.

“I’m sure it was the same way when we were winning all the titles. They used to look at me and Shaq at the All-Star break.”

There’s still one area left for Bryant to conquer: his peers.

From the time he entered the league, Bryant never made much effort to socialize with the other players. Then he got a Man Code violation for bringing O’Neal’s name into his rape case in 2003. He may not be in the top five for many players’ cellphone plans, but he’s been so good for so long they all acknowledge his basketball greatness.

Still, it was telling to hear the long pauses before Ray Allen and Allen Iverson answered my question about where Bryant fits within the NBA fraternity.

Iverson said: “I really don’t know how to answer that. I’m not around him that much, unless it’s All-Star or whatever. Kobe’s a good dude. I think, sometimes, people are unfair to him. But people are unfair to everybody.”

“He’s still one of the best players in the league,” Allen finally said. “It doesn’t take away what he’s done, what he’s accomplished. You’ve got to respect him.”

The one thing no one ever questioned was Bryant’s work ethic, and that was evident Sunday in his all-around numbers of 31 points, six assists, five rebounds and six steals. The most telling play was the time he hustled to save a ball from going out of bounds, which led to a Carmelo Anthony fastbreak dunk.

“Kobe, regardless of how people feel about him, he’s always going to be a fan favorite,” Anthony said.

He didn’t explain what he meant by “people,” but I’m guessing it’s other players.

I asked Bryant whether he would rather be loved or respected by his peers.

“Respected,” Bryant said. “You can be loved, but if you don’t have the respect, what does that mean? We’re in a profession where performance and respect from your peers is what really means the most -- at least for me.

“I don’t want players smiling at me and saying we’re great friends, then behind my back saying, ‘You know what, he doesn’t really play hard, doesn’t work hard, can’t do this, can’t do that.’ I’d rather have the respect first.”

Sunday night, he had the All-Star MVP award. They had to respect that.

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande, go to latimes.com/adandeblog.