Kobe Bryant plans to play for the U.S. team at this year's world basketball championships and the 2008 Olympics.  

Bryant gave an emphatic nod to joining the U.S. team in a meeting Friday with the head of USA Basketball, Jerry Colangelo.

"I had a previous conversation with him and we said we would meet again when he came to Phoenix," Colangelo said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He's really excited about it. He's really kind of juiced about representing the United States. He had some great things to say about the opportunity."

Bryant was in town for the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.