It's a good thing that NBA Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant 33, is good at winning championships and recently secured the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics for the USA in men's basketball because his marriage with wife Vanessa Bryant depends on it.

She has been married to Kobe Bryant since April 2001, a few months before the Los Angeles Lakers star won his second of five NBA titles.

In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Vanessa stated:

"I certainly would not want to be married to somebody that can't win championships," Vanessa told New York magazine. "If you're sacrificing time away from my family and myself for the benefit of winning championships, then winning a championship should happen every single year."

After being heavily criticized for her comments, she recently reached out to TMZ to clarify her statement.

"I'm sad to hear that comments in my New York Magazine interview are being misconstrued and taken out of context," the wife of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant told TMZ. "I have and will continue to support my husband's dreams.

"I have been with Kobe for 13 years. I accepted his marriage proposal prior to him winning any of his five championships with his teammates."

In spite of numerous alleged indiscretions and even sexual assault accusations in 2003 against Kobe, the Bryant's have been married for 11 years and have two children, Natalia, 9, and Gianna, 6. They reunited around Valentine's Day after going so far as to work out the details of their divorce, including how much Vanessa could walk away with from the marriage - a figure that approached the $150 million mark.

So just in case, for the sake of their marriage let's hope Dwight Howard and Steve Nash can help bring Kobe another ring.