Kobe gets a king’s welcome from a jester

NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant had a gift for “Tonight Show” host Conan O’Brien when he appeared on the show Wednesday night -- game-worn signed sneakers.

O’Brien’s gift to Bryant: He stole a 25-foot-tall golden statue of a pharaoh from the Universal Studios lot and put it in his studio to make Bryant “feel like a king.”

“Straight out of ‘The Ten Commandments,’ ” Bryant said of the statue.

Bryant told O’Brien he wanted this championship so much because of the way the Lakers exited last year’s Finals against Boston.

“It’s incredible to see all that work, all that intensity, come to fruition,” Bryant said. “It’s awesome.”

Bryant also said Coach Phil Jackson had the Lakers meditate before games.

“He said, ‘You’re a frog on a lily pad . . . ‘ I’m not making this stuff up,” he said when the audience started laughing.

Trivia time

What year did Lakers Coach Pat Riley guarantee a repeat championship at the victory parade?

Puppet master

Nike released its latest Bryant-LeBron James puppet commercial, which James might see as salt in the wound.

With Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” playing in the background, Bryant’s puppet puts on a new championship hat and T-shirt and throws confetti.

But before entering a dining room where James is eating Fruity Pebbles, Bryant changes both his demeanor and wardrobe. A solemn Bryant, dressed in a robe, walks in and says, “Good morning, LeBron.”

“Good morning, Kobe,” James answers.

Then Bryant quickly leaves the room, and the celebration starts up again.

The commercial ends with Jordan singing, “The party’s here on the Westside.”

Weighing in

Usually the pound is stronger than the dollar, but Dallas Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips doesn’t see it that way.

Phillips will fine players a league-maximum $453 each day for every pound they are over their target weight.

“I expect them to be in the best shape they’ve been in,” Phillips told the Dallas Morning News. “That’s part of being accountable -- not only to their teammates, but to themselves.”

Trivia answer

1987. The Lakers won back-to-back titles against the Boston Celtics in 1987 and the Detroit Pistons in 1988. Before that, the last time an NBA team won consecutive championships was when the Celtics won in 1968 and 1969 against the Lakers.

And finally

Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune, on the reports that former Chicago Clubs slugger Sammy Sosa is among the players who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003:

“Sosa could have bigger problems than being lucky to get 20% of the vote [to the Hall of Fame]. Sosa, see, told Congress he never used performance-enhancing drugs. Congress does not like to be lied to.

“See Roger Clemens for details.”

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bill.brink@latimes.com

mark.medina@latimes.com