1 00:00:09,759 --> 00:00:14,805 Kobe convinced himself that he could do whatever it was that he 2 00:00:14,806 --> 00:00:16,181 was trying to do. 3 00:00:16,182 --> 00:00:18,851 I'm so excited I get two rings this year. 4 00:00:18,852 --> 00:00:19,685 Two rings? 5 00:00:19,686 --> 00:00:20,978 Yeah, two rings. 6 00:00:20,979 --> 00:00:22,354 My wedding band and this championship ring. 7 00:00:27,527 --> 00:00:30,196 Five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals. 8 00:00:30,321 --> 00:00:32,407 A once in a generation talent. 9 00:00:32,532 --> 00:00:33,575 But in the end-- 10 00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:36,703 Charges were filed against Kobe Bean Bryant. 11 00:00:36,828 --> 00:00:38,038 Things weren't always smooth. 12 00:00:38,163 --> 00:00:39,414 It wasn't always a straight line. 13 00:00:39,539 --> 00:00:41,416 This alleged crime happened 14 months ago, 14 00:00:41,541 --> 00:00:44,210 but a criminal case will be dropped. 15 00:00:44,335 --> 00:00:45,462 It was a bumpy road. 16 00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:55,554 The night that Kobe ruptured his Achilles tendon, 17 00:00:55,555 --> 00:00:59,391 he said, I felt like somebody kicked me in the back of my leg. 18 00:00:59,392 --> 00:01:02,478 I reached back there, and I tried to pull it back down. 19 00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:04,354 I've had a lot of guys rupture Achilles. 20 00:01:04,355 --> 00:01:06,482 I've never heard anybody say that. 21 00:01:06,483 --> 00:01:07,566 It's [bleep] sad. 22 00:01:08,693 --> 00:01:12,071 And once the locker room door was closed, 23 00:01:12,072 --> 00:01:15,241 he lost his mind, yelling, cursing, 24 00:01:15,366 --> 00:01:18,577 throwing Gatorade bottles all over the place, people ducking. 25 00:01:18,578 --> 00:01:21,915 My mental switch-- don't fucking touch me. 26 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:23,458 Don't talk to me. 27 00:01:23,583 --> 00:01:25,960 Right away, you're like, now you know you're talking to the 28 00:01:26,086 --> 00:01:26,961 Black Mamba. 29 00:01:27,087 --> 00:01:28,379 You're not talking to Kobe. 30 00:01:31,966 --> 00:01:36,261 And then I said, Kobe, Vanessa and the girls are in my office. 31 00:01:36,262 --> 00:01:39,307 I tell you, it was like a switch. 32 00:01:39,432 --> 00:01:44,646 He went from Black Mamba, OK, that just ruptured his Achilles 33 00:01:44,771 --> 00:01:47,774 to Kobe. 34 00:01:47,899 --> 00:01:50,276 Wasn't sure I could do it. 35 00:01:50,401 --> 00:01:56,949 Your kids walk in, and you're like, I got to set an example. 36 00:01:56,950 --> 00:01:57,951 Daddy's going to be fine. 37 00:01:58,076 --> 00:01:59,451 I'm going to do it. 38 00:01:59,452 --> 00:02:03,247 If you were a fan and you only saw the Black Mamba, 39 00:02:03,248 --> 00:02:05,749 there was more, a lot more. 40 00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:10,963 The other side of him was someone totally different. 41 00:02:10,964 --> 00:02:16,177 So you've got this duality with him. 42 00:02:16,302 --> 00:02:18,470 He had to take a good, hard look at himself 43 00:02:18,471 --> 00:02:22,975 and decide, who do I want to be? 44 00:02:22,976 --> 00:02:25,687 Kobe! 45 00:02:25,812 --> 00:02:26,813 Kobe! 46 00:02:26,938 --> 00:02:29,481 The future was limitless for him. 47 00:02:29,482 --> 00:02:30,941 L.A. County Fire Department. 48 00:02:30,942 --> 00:02:32,318 And then all of a sudden-- 49 00:02:32,443 --> 00:02:34,778 A helicopter crashed into a mountain. 50 00:02:34,779 --> 00:02:41,326 Kobe always felt like he wanted to go young and be immortalized. 51 00:02:41,327 --> 00:02:43,204 That's what he used to say. 52 00:02:43,329 --> 00:02:46,541 And we're looking at the flames right now on the hill. 53 00:02:46,666 --> 00:02:50,211 My mind went to the conversations we had. 54 00:02:50,336 --> 00:02:52,505 Like, damn, he spoke this. 55 00:03:03,308 --> 00:03:04,433 That injury was the end. 56 00:03:04,434 --> 00:03:05,852 It wasn't the beginning of the end. 57 00:03:05,977 --> 00:03:07,144 It was the end. 58 00:03:07,145 --> 00:03:10,523 Worked really hard to get to this point. 59 00:03:10,648 --> 00:03:13,483 Players at this stage of their career, they pop up Achilles 60 00:03:13,484 --> 00:03:16,945 and the pundits say they never come back the same. 61 00:03:16,946 --> 00:03:21,867 So I can hear it already, and it's pissing me off right now 62 00:03:21,868 --> 00:03:23,368 just thinking about it. 63 00:03:23,369 --> 00:03:26,039 Kobe showed even more emotion and anger on Facebook. 64 00:03:26,164 --> 00:03:27,207 He wrote-- 65 00:03:34,672 --> 00:03:35,672 It scared me. 66 00:03:35,673 --> 00:03:38,050 My career could be over now, man. 67 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:41,553 After his Achilles tear, he was already feeling pretty low. 68 00:03:41,554 --> 00:03:45,391 It becomes very, very public that his parents were selling 69 00:03:45,516 --> 00:03:48,727 some of his memorabilia without his consent. 70 00:03:48,728 --> 00:03:52,022 For the first time ever, rare Kobe Bryant memorabilia 71 00:03:52,023 --> 00:03:53,398 is up for sale. 72 00:03:53,399 --> 00:03:56,903 900 items appraised at $1.5 million. 73 00:03:57,028 --> 00:03:59,239 Those are real jerseys from Kobe's high school days? 74 00:03:59,364 --> 00:04:00,239 Yeah, that is correct. 75 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,532 It caused a lot of chaos. 76 00:04:02,533 --> 00:04:07,663 NBA superstar Kobe Bryant facing off against his mother. 77 00:04:07,664 --> 00:04:09,665 Were it not for the circumstances surrounding 78 00:04:09,666 --> 00:04:13,920 the auction, items like this would never have come for sale. 79 00:04:14,045 --> 00:04:16,880 Typically, when an athlete sells something, they're older 80 00:04:16,881 --> 00:04:18,048 or they need money. 81 00:04:18,049 --> 00:04:20,093 I'm not clear, and I know that-- 82 00:04:20,218 --> 00:04:23,262 I don't know that anyone is on how much financial aid Kobe has 83 00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:24,888 given his parents over the years, 84 00:04:24,889 --> 00:04:28,767 but there's still been a very rocky relationship between them 85 00:04:28,768 --> 00:04:30,727 ever since his marriage to Vanessa. 86 00:04:30,728 --> 00:04:32,938 I think, from his mind, it was sort of always 87 00:04:32,939 --> 00:04:35,732 wanting more and more and more. 88 00:04:35,733 --> 00:04:40,779 He seemed genuinely disillusioned with his parents 89 00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:43,073 that they would do something like that. 90 00:04:43,074 --> 00:04:44,950 Kobe Bryant, he says no. 91 00:04:44,951 --> 00:04:48,496 He's trying to block this auction, says it's his stuff. 92 00:04:48,621 --> 00:04:52,457 I had heard over the years that he and Joe would periodically 93 00:04:52,458 --> 00:04:55,585 get together, but then I heard about this lawsuit. 94 00:04:55,586 --> 00:04:56,962 And I think it hit me at that point 95 00:04:56,963 --> 00:04:59,382 that this is probably not going to be resolved. 96 00:05:04,721 --> 00:05:06,805 Kobe Bryant has reportedly reached a settlement 97 00:05:06,806 --> 00:05:08,432 with his parents. 98 00:05:08,433 --> 00:05:10,934 The auction house will still get to sell a fraction of the items. 99 00:05:10,935 --> 00:05:13,770 Bryant's parents also released a statement apologizing. 100 00:05:13,771 --> 00:05:16,440 "We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended 101 00:05:16,441 --> 00:05:19,609 pain we have caused our son and appreciate the financial support 102 00:05:19,610 --> 00:05:21,236 he has provided over the years." 103 00:05:21,237 --> 00:05:23,572 End quote. 104 00:05:23,573 --> 00:05:27,827 So when I see that stuff, it angers me 105 00:05:27,952 --> 00:05:33,166 because I know how genuine and loving and caring parents 106 00:05:33,291 --> 00:05:34,625 they are. 107 00:05:37,003 --> 00:05:41,215 They are nothing like what's the narrative that's out there 108 00:05:41,341 --> 00:05:42,174 about them. 109 00:05:42,175 --> 00:05:44,009 Nothing like that. 110 00:05:44,010 --> 00:05:50,391 And that is-- no, it is-- 111 00:05:50,516 --> 00:05:52,851 it's pretty sad, man. 112 00:05:52,852 --> 00:05:56,521 I could have never imagined this family that endlessly talked 113 00:05:56,522 --> 00:05:58,690 about being only dependent on one another 114 00:05:58,691 --> 00:06:01,193 because they had been the only Black people in their village 115 00:06:01,194 --> 00:06:04,446 in Italy, and to sort of fast-forward 116 00:06:04,447 --> 00:06:06,531 and realize that they're so at odds with each other 117 00:06:06,532 --> 00:06:08,450 that a lawsuit has to be filed. 118 00:06:08,451 --> 00:06:12,496 That was really painful to see. 119 00:06:12,497 --> 00:06:15,999 They had moved to Italy with his father's career. 120 00:06:19,045 --> 00:06:20,962 My dad was moving out there into a whole other world. 121 00:06:20,963 --> 00:06:22,048 We didn't speak the language. 122 00:06:22,173 --> 00:06:23,548 We didn't know anybody. 123 00:06:23,549 --> 00:06:26,385 We had to bond with one another more so than anything. 124 00:06:26,386 --> 00:06:29,055 Because Kobe would talk about family in Italy so much, 125 00:06:29,180 --> 00:06:33,016 that Italy is about family. 126 00:06:33,017 --> 00:06:36,186 He would tell you all the time that was the happiest moments 127 00:06:36,187 --> 00:06:37,313 of his life. 128 00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:20,439 When the financial landscape changes, everything changes. 129 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,733 There is a level of, do I now take care of you? 130 00:07:23,734 --> 00:07:26,778 All those NBA stars, all those NFL stars, 131 00:07:26,779 --> 00:07:28,280 they take care of their families. 132 00:07:28,281 --> 00:07:31,451 So I guess my confusion was, why are you 133 00:07:31,576 --> 00:07:32,909 any different from these other guys 134 00:07:32,910 --> 00:07:35,455 that feel the need to have to help their families? 135 00:07:35,580 --> 00:07:36,955 Why are you so frustrated? 136 00:07:36,956 --> 00:07:38,957 Whatever the reason is, I didn't understand the need 137 00:07:38,958 --> 00:07:40,417 to be public about it. 138 00:07:40,418 --> 00:07:43,628 Did you ever have conversations with him about trying 139 00:07:43,629 --> 00:07:45,046 to reconcile with his parents? 140 00:07:45,047 --> 00:07:46,799 Uh-uh. 141 00:07:46,924 --> 00:07:49,468 Uh-uh. 142 00:07:49,469 --> 00:07:52,429 No, uh-uh. 143 00:07:52,430 --> 00:07:54,474 No, I stayed away from that. 144 00:07:54,599 --> 00:07:58,019 I don't... no. 145 00:08:41,854 --> 00:08:43,355 There's been times where it just feels like this is the end. 146 00:08:43,356 --> 00:08:47,025 But what I've come to find out is that no matter what happens, 147 00:08:47,026 --> 00:08:48,485 the storm eventually ends. 148 00:08:48,486 --> 00:08:50,487 And when the storm does end, you want to make sure that 149 00:08:50,488 --> 00:08:51,864 you're ready. 150 00:09:00,623 --> 00:09:04,960 Kobe and I exchanged emails in spurts. 151 00:09:04,961 --> 00:09:10,674 I actually got to know him more after he left high school. 152 00:09:10,675 --> 00:09:14,302 Kobe's holding my young daughter. 153 00:09:14,303 --> 00:09:17,973 Our friendship really deepened and developed over the next 154 00:09:17,974 --> 00:09:19,391 20 years. 155 00:09:19,392 --> 00:09:24,521 Our conversations about writing started to surface when he was 156 00:09:24,522 --> 00:09:28,525 in his last year of basketball. 157 00:09:28,526 --> 00:09:31,820 Kobe started thinking, what's next? 158 00:09:31,821 --> 00:09:32,738 It's hard. 159 00:09:32,863 --> 00:09:34,073 I mean, I don't know what to expect. 160 00:09:34,198 --> 00:09:35,699 What am I going to be after I'm done playing? 161 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:37,534 Because I'm getting really close to that point. 162 00:09:37,535 --> 00:09:38,744 I've thought about it a little bit 163 00:09:38,869 --> 00:09:40,370 in terms of, what is the deciding factor? 164 00:09:40,371 --> 00:09:42,914 I mean, how do players actually know when it's time to hang 165 00:09:42,915 --> 00:09:44,250 them up? 166 00:09:44,375 --> 00:09:46,209 I'm as excited for this season as I've been in a long time. 167 00:09:46,210 --> 00:09:52,382 I actually ended up meeting Kobe when rumors were flying that he 168 00:09:52,383 --> 00:09:55,010 was going to retire that year. 169 00:09:55,011 --> 00:09:57,430 So what we're your retirement plans? 170 00:09:57,555 --> 00:10:00,181 Kobe, do you ever think about the end? 171 00:10:00,182 --> 00:10:03,268 I mean, you talked when you first got hurt about, hey, 172 00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:05,271 maybe I should just retire. 173 00:10:05,396 --> 00:10:06,730 But he wasn't committing. 174 00:10:06,731 --> 00:10:08,149 He wasn't saying anything. 175 00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:11,776 And I kept tossing and turning with, how do you know? 176 00:10:11,777 --> 00:10:14,279 I mean, I was fortunate but unfortunate 177 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:15,823 to have these injuries. 178 00:10:15,948 --> 00:10:19,784 I say "fortunate" because it gave me a lot of time to think. 179 00:10:19,785 --> 00:10:22,454 But the reality is this must be a decision that comes 180 00:10:22,455 --> 00:10:23,455 from within. 181 00:10:23,456 --> 00:10:24,623 And so I asked him. 182 00:10:24,624 --> 00:10:27,292 I said, so that rumor was true? 183 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:28,794 He said, yeah. 184 00:10:28,919 --> 00:10:31,297 I said, well, why don't you say something? 185 00:10:31,422 --> 00:10:38,136 I don't want all the old man stuff. 186 00:10:38,137 --> 00:10:40,931 I said, well, got to give people a chance to say goodbye. 187 00:10:44,977 --> 00:10:49,148 A month later, I remember his secretary at the time sending me 188 00:10:49,273 --> 00:10:52,484 something and saying, Kobe wanted to be sure that you 189 00:10:52,485 --> 00:10:54,028 saw this. 190 00:10:54,153 --> 00:10:57,657 Bryant posted a note online Sunday called Dear Basketball. 191 00:10:57,782 --> 00:10:59,157 Say it ain't so. 192 00:10:59,158 --> 00:11:01,785 Basketball legend Kobe Bryant says he'll be hanging 193 00:11:01,786 --> 00:11:03,411 up his sneakers this season. 194 00:11:03,412 --> 00:11:04,621 He's lived the American dream. 195 00:11:04,622 --> 00:11:06,665 He came into the league at 17. 196 00:11:06,666 --> 00:11:10,670 Bryant posted a 52-line farewell online Sunday. 197 00:11:10,795 --> 00:11:13,881 "My heart can take the pounding." 198 00:11:14,006 --> 00:11:15,840 "My mind can handle the grind." 199 00:11:15,841 --> 00:11:18,843 "But my body knows when it's time to say goodbye." 200 00:11:18,844 --> 00:11:21,222 "This season is all I have left to give." 201 00:11:21,347 --> 00:11:27,728 I just was in awe of what he had achieved with that, 202 00:11:27,853 --> 00:11:32,274 and I then wrote back and said, I wouldn't change a word. 203 00:11:36,696 --> 00:11:38,029 So what's new? 204 00:11:42,326 --> 00:11:45,037 I never actually told the game how I felt, 205 00:11:45,162 --> 00:11:47,248 and once I decided to write it from that perspective, 206 00:11:47,373 --> 00:11:51,877 then the words just came in a matter of minutes. 207 00:11:52,002 --> 00:11:54,755 I wrote to him, "Hello, dear man. 208 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,049 So of course, we read the poem today in class, 209 00:11:57,174 --> 00:12:00,553 and their response was, 'He wrote this?'" And he wrote back, 210 00:12:00,678 --> 00:12:01,386 "Thank you. 211 00:12:01,387 --> 00:12:02,971 Of course, I wrote it. 212 00:12:02,972 --> 00:12:06,934 I had a teacher that was and still is completely awesome." 213 00:12:11,105 --> 00:12:15,483 If I said, man, I wasn't getting a little emotional about it, 214 00:12:15,484 --> 00:12:16,569 I'd be lying. 215 00:12:16,694 --> 00:12:17,902 It's a little different when-- 216 00:12:17,903 --> 00:12:19,863 When you are giving up something that's 217 00:12:19,864 --> 00:12:24,577 consumed your entire life, it leaves such a void. 218 00:12:24,702 --> 00:12:27,078 I think he gave himself a day to mourn it. 219 00:12:27,079 --> 00:12:31,250 There's so much beauty and the pain of this thing. 220 00:12:31,375 --> 00:12:34,919 And it sounds really weird to say that, but it's-- 221 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,465 I appreciate the really, really tough times as much 222 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:39,382 as I appreciate the great times. 223 00:12:39,383 --> 00:12:41,426 And it's important to go through that progression 224 00:12:41,427 --> 00:12:45,889 because I think that's where you really learn about the self. 225 00:12:45,890 --> 00:12:47,599 How's it going? What's going on, man? 226 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:48,434 All right, all right. 227 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:49,977 All right? 228 00:12:50,102 --> 00:12:53,105 The first half of his career is like people was attacking 229 00:12:53,230 --> 00:12:54,856 his character and this and that. 230 00:12:54,857 --> 00:12:57,109 You know, to hear stories about his teammates hated him. 231 00:12:57,234 --> 00:12:59,278 His teammates were coming out, was talking about him. 232 00:12:59,403 --> 00:13:02,071 It was like, you heard a lot of things, 233 00:13:02,072 --> 00:13:04,032 saying he ran Shaq out of town. 234 00:13:04,033 --> 00:13:07,577 I believe there's nothing in life that fueled Kobe's game 235 00:13:07,578 --> 00:13:08,954 more than hate. 236 00:13:09,079 --> 00:13:11,414 The end of it is like people was loving this guy. 237 00:13:12,750 --> 00:13:14,083 Seriously? 238 00:13:14,084 --> 00:13:16,629 Kobe, can you talk about what your legacy will be? 239 00:13:16,754 --> 00:13:17,921 Come on, man. Come on. 240 00:13:17,922 --> 00:13:18,964 Come on. You know. 241 00:13:19,089 --> 00:13:20,381 You know. 242 00:13:20,382 --> 00:13:23,593 They started to get to know who Kobe is, the real person. 243 00:13:23,594 --> 00:13:26,889 At that point, he could let the hate go. 244 00:13:29,809 --> 00:13:33,687 It was the happiest that I had ever seen him. 245 00:13:33,813 --> 00:13:36,815 He enjoyed his teammates. 246 00:13:36,816 --> 00:13:38,651 He enjoyed playing. 247 00:13:38,776 --> 00:13:41,486 The pressure was off, the job of winning. 248 00:13:41,487 --> 00:13:47,116 Once it was off the table, he became more of a human being. 249 00:13:47,117 --> 00:13:49,661 The hottest ticket tonight in Los Angeles, 250 00:13:49,662 --> 00:13:53,665 it will be to see Kobe Bryant's last NBA game with the Lakers. 251 00:13:53,666 --> 00:13:57,335 Kobe had just enough left in the tank to script his own ending. 252 00:13:57,336 --> 00:14:00,255 Hopefully we can make this night some type of celebration, where 253 00:14:00,256 --> 00:14:01,840 I can give them something where they're not thinking 254 00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:03,508 about the fact that this is my last game. 255 00:14:03,509 --> 00:14:04,509 They're just thinking about, this 256 00:14:04,510 --> 00:14:06,135 is a hell of a game to watch. 257 00:14:06,136 --> 00:14:10,473 He comes to the bench, and he'd just be absolutely exhausted. 258 00:14:10,474 --> 00:14:11,808 And I knew it. 259 00:14:11,809 --> 00:14:13,935 He was looking at me, and I'm looking at him. 260 00:14:13,936 --> 00:14:15,354 And I said, you had enough? 261 00:14:15,479 --> 00:14:16,771 He goes, no. 262 00:14:16,772 --> 00:14:19,524 I'm going to go till I drop. 263 00:14:19,525 --> 00:14:20,984 And he dropped 60. 264 00:14:20,985 --> 00:14:22,694 So yes, I'm walking away from the game, 265 00:14:22,695 --> 00:14:24,196 but don't think I'm old and decrepit. 266 00:14:24,321 --> 00:14:26,656 I'm walking away because I'm ready to do something else. 267 00:14:26,657 --> 00:14:27,949 Kobe. 268 00:14:27,950 --> 00:14:30,369 60 points for the sixth time in his career 269 00:14:30,494 --> 00:14:31,995 and in his final game. 270 00:14:31,996 --> 00:14:34,582 Yeah, it felt good to be able to do that one last time. 271 00:14:38,627 --> 00:14:39,878 Thank you. 272 00:14:39,879 --> 00:14:44,425 I was actually nervous for Kobe in his career 273 00:14:44,550 --> 00:14:48,011 because I thought to myself, what are you 274 00:14:48,012 --> 00:14:49,554 going to do after basketball? 275 00:14:49,555 --> 00:14:51,765 He doesn't have that personality that he's just going to keep 276 00:14:51,891 --> 00:14:54,058 playing and hobbling up and down the court. 277 00:14:54,059 --> 00:14:57,562 He's thinking like, this is the end of this chapter. 278 00:14:57,563 --> 00:14:59,565 Let's focus on the next chapter. 279 00:15:01,942 --> 00:15:03,192 Damn, what am I going to do? 280 00:15:04,987 --> 00:15:06,906 You know what I mean? 281 00:15:07,031 --> 00:15:10,743 So I kept thinking, asking the wrong question, which 282 00:15:10,868 --> 00:15:13,412 is the biggest industry I can get into? 283 00:15:13,537 --> 00:15:14,747 What industry can I get-- 284 00:15:14,872 --> 00:15:17,373 I can get into that has the biggest upside? 285 00:15:17,374 --> 00:15:18,750 Wrong question. 286 00:15:18,751 --> 00:15:23,546 The beautiful thing about him is that he was always in search 287 00:15:23,547 --> 00:15:24,924 of something. 288 00:15:25,049 --> 00:15:26,926 And then I started asking, what do you like doing? 289 00:15:27,051 --> 00:15:28,427 What do you love to do the most? 290 00:15:28,552 --> 00:15:30,011 I love storytelling. 291 00:15:30,012 --> 00:15:32,388 I absolutely love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, 292 00:15:32,389 --> 00:15:33,432 love it. 293 00:15:33,557 --> 00:15:36,434 He was just thinking about it as a career. 294 00:15:36,435 --> 00:15:40,939 He sent me some short scene work and started to just get his head 295 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:42,983 around the idea of, can I do this? 296 00:15:54,286 --> 00:15:56,121 My last year when people asked me what I was going to do 297 00:15:56,246 --> 00:15:57,622 and I'd say I'd go into storytelling, 298 00:15:57,623 --> 00:15:59,625 they were like-- well, I got a lot of these. 299 00:16:00,584 --> 00:16:01,335 What about that? 300 00:16:01,460 --> 00:16:02,585 Oh, a lot of them. 301 00:16:02,586 --> 00:16:07,007 It's hard to really even entertain a serious conversation 302 00:16:07,132 --> 00:16:09,384 about me being able to do something else other than 303 00:16:09,385 --> 00:16:10,511 play basketball. 304 00:16:10,636 --> 00:16:12,220 So I just want to tell those fuckers, see? 305 00:16:12,221 --> 00:16:13,096 You were wrong. 306 00:16:13,097 --> 00:16:14,597 It was like another challenge. 307 00:16:14,598 --> 00:16:17,433 It was like-- so I can get any meeting that's all cool, 308 00:16:17,434 --> 00:16:20,228 and you sit down, and they're trying to pitch you on being 309 00:16:20,229 --> 00:16:21,981 on the show, being in front of the camera. 310 00:16:22,106 --> 00:16:24,440 I'm like, I'm not about that. 311 00:16:24,441 --> 00:16:26,901 I actually just got sick and tired of it. 312 00:16:26,902 --> 00:16:30,279 So what we've had to do is just build it ourselves. 313 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,492 Kobe was famous for cold-calling people of greatness 314 00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:37,328 across the board of society, and one of the people 315 00:16:37,329 --> 00:16:43,001 that Kobe admired, I think, the most was John Williams. 316 00:16:43,002 --> 00:16:44,585 Oh, my God, Why? 317 00:16:44,586 --> 00:16:45,420 Why? 318 00:16:45,421 --> 00:16:46,838 Why me? 319 00:16:46,839 --> 00:16:51,801 I told Kobe I've never been to a basketball game in my life. 320 00:16:51,802 --> 00:16:53,512 You study the people who inspire you. 321 00:16:53,637 --> 00:16:55,389 You learn from the things that they've done. 322 00:16:55,514 --> 00:16:57,181 You try to figure out how they did it, 323 00:16:57,182 --> 00:16:58,808 why they did it that way. 324 00:16:58,809 --> 00:17:01,729 And Kobe wanted to know, how do you write Harry Potter? 325 00:17:01,854 --> 00:17:06,774 And his interest was in how these ideas come about, 326 00:17:06,775 --> 00:17:09,360 the concept of inspiration. 327 00:17:09,361 --> 00:17:12,406 And that's how we started our relationship. 328 00:17:12,531 --> 00:17:14,449 When I had the idea of turning Dear Basketball 329 00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:17,493 into an animated short, I called him, and I said, 330 00:17:17,494 --> 00:17:18,995 John, would you-- 331 00:17:18,996 --> 00:17:21,831 Would I be interested in writing music for this? 332 00:17:21,832 --> 00:17:24,375 And he goes, I'm just a little busy. 333 00:17:24,376 --> 00:17:25,626 I was busy. 334 00:17:25,627 --> 00:17:27,628 I was working on one of the Star Wars films. 335 00:17:32,926 --> 00:17:36,804 He said, would you mind if I use the same orchestra as I'm using 336 00:17:36,805 --> 00:17:38,347 for the Star Wars film? 337 00:17:38,348 --> 00:17:41,727 I'm like, yeah, you know, I think we're good with that. 338 00:17:41,852 --> 00:17:43,352 I couldn't resist doing it. 339 00:17:43,353 --> 00:17:47,356 And there was something about this man that said that his life 340 00:17:47,357 --> 00:17:48,024 is not over. 341 00:17:48,025 --> 00:17:50,651 It's just beginning. 342 00:17:50,652 --> 00:17:56,741 We immediately moved into the execution of the short film. 343 00:17:56,742 --> 00:17:58,409 Kobe chose Glen Keane. 344 00:17:58,410 --> 00:18:02,497 He's one of the top guns in that field. 345 00:18:02,498 --> 00:18:07,335 I spent nearly 40 years at Disney animating a mermaid, 346 00:18:07,336 --> 00:18:11,172 the Beast, Aladdin, Tarzan. 347 00:18:11,173 --> 00:18:16,719 I mean, I think of drawing as a seismograph of your soul, 348 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,013 and Kobe connected with that. 349 00:18:19,014 --> 00:18:21,849 To me, being hand-drawn is representative of the 350 00:18:21,850 --> 00:18:23,143 story itself. 351 00:18:23,268 --> 00:18:25,436 So there's a lot of imperfections in there, 352 00:18:25,437 --> 00:18:29,273 but the beauty comes from those imperfections. 353 00:18:29,274 --> 00:18:35,238 Storytelling, for him, was the beginning of a new path. 354 00:18:35,239 --> 00:18:40,368 There was a scared part of Kobe moving into that, which is why I 355 00:18:40,369 --> 00:18:43,913 think that he was so intent, like, no, you need to come along 356 00:18:43,914 --> 00:18:46,749 with me on this journey. 357 00:18:46,750 --> 00:18:50,545 The core of the film itself is starting with a dream, 358 00:18:50,546 --> 00:18:55,091 but then understanding that it takes work to get there. 359 00:18:55,092 --> 00:19:00,180 It was a career that takes time to build. 360 00:19:00,305 --> 00:19:03,432 It's just incredible the way memory plays such 361 00:19:03,433 --> 00:19:08,312 an important part in your life, and this became the theme, 362 00:19:08,313 --> 00:19:11,399 for me, of Dear Basketball. 363 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,403 The artist should be always in touch with his childish self, 364 00:19:15,404 --> 00:19:18,906 the first eight years before you really understood what was up 365 00:19:18,907 --> 00:19:20,408 and down. 366 00:19:20,409 --> 00:19:23,411 The actual work in process was back at Glen's studio 367 00:19:23,412 --> 00:19:27,999 where we had Glen, Kobe, and myself analyzing the film. 368 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,751 A sense of magic and a sense of discovery. 369 00:19:30,752 --> 00:19:32,420 Right, the blank canvas. 370 00:19:32,421 --> 00:19:35,674 That to bring that kind of openness 371 00:19:35,799 --> 00:19:40,636 is the thing that we get older, we forget how to do. 372 00:19:40,637 --> 00:19:42,347 I sat down with him. 373 00:19:42,472 --> 00:19:48,352 I said, so I have to know what you were thinking and feeling 374 00:19:48,353 --> 00:19:50,980 in each one of these plays. 375 00:19:50,981 --> 00:19:52,524 I'll never forget. 376 00:19:52,649 --> 00:19:55,318 There was one particular shot where there was three seconds 377 00:19:55,319 --> 00:19:59,155 left in the game, and as he's moving full speed, 378 00:19:59,156 --> 00:20:03,368 it's down to less than a second left. 379 00:20:03,493 --> 00:20:08,415 But the angle that he was moving was so extreme-- 380 00:20:08,540 --> 00:20:10,083 Has to put it up with the buzzer. 381 00:20:10,209 --> 00:20:12,710 Bags it in! 382 00:20:12,711 --> 00:20:16,005 He said, do you want to know how I did that? 383 00:20:16,006 --> 00:20:18,425 It was like, if you ride on a bicycle when you're a kid, 384 00:20:18,550 --> 00:20:20,051 you ever play this game with your friends, 385 00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:22,596 you have to throw a rock and try to hit the telephone pole. 386 00:20:22,721 --> 00:20:25,556 In Italy, my friend and I would ride our bikes, 387 00:20:25,557 --> 00:20:30,103 and we'd throw this rock and try to hit this telephone pole. 388 00:20:30,229 --> 00:20:32,397 But our rocks kept missing. 389 00:20:32,522 --> 00:20:34,398 So as you're moving this way, you kind of 390 00:20:34,399 --> 00:20:35,943 have to throw it back. 391 00:20:36,068 --> 00:20:37,735 If you throw it directly this way, you're going to miss it. 392 00:20:37,736 --> 00:20:41,406 And then our momentum would have that rock hit the pole. 393 00:20:41,531 --> 00:20:44,158 He said, that's what I was thinking at that moment. 394 00:20:44,159 --> 00:20:52,459 Dear Basketball was a chance for him to relive his experience 395 00:20:52,584 --> 00:20:58,257 the way his dad brought him into basketball to bring him 396 00:20:58,382 --> 00:21:00,092 into his world. 397 00:21:00,217 --> 00:21:04,345 And I could tell by the way Kobe talked about those days, 398 00:21:04,346 --> 00:21:07,431 those were really, really precious. 399 00:21:07,432 --> 00:21:10,435 He said, when I was a little kid and practicing, 400 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,397 I would set up chairs and pretend they were players. 401 00:21:14,398 --> 00:21:17,942 You asked for my hustle. 402 00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:21,070 I gave you my heart. 403 00:21:21,071 --> 00:21:23,657 This is the original pencil sketch. 404 00:21:23,782 --> 00:21:26,660 You can see here 50 seconds point three-- 405 00:21:26,785 --> 00:21:28,954 And so I ran. 406 00:21:29,079 --> 00:21:34,626 I ran up and down every court after every loose ball for you. 407 00:21:34,751 --> 00:21:41,090 And it was in the storyboarding where I got to the end, 408 00:21:41,091 --> 00:21:47,638 and I realized that little six-year-old Kobe and big Kobe 409 00:21:47,639 --> 00:21:51,143 have to be on the court together. 410 00:21:51,268 --> 00:21:56,315 And we both know, no matter what I do next, 411 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,319 I'll always be that kid with the rolled up socks. 412 00:22:00,444 --> 00:22:03,237 At that moment, I just got chills. 413 00:22:03,238 --> 00:22:05,323 This is what this is about. 414 00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:09,076 That little six-year-old Kobe is there and this idea 415 00:22:09,077 --> 00:22:14,166 that it's true for everybody. 416 00:22:14,291 --> 00:22:16,000 We're professionals and everything, 417 00:22:16,001 --> 00:22:19,295 but really, we're just six-year-old kids still living 418 00:22:19,296 --> 00:22:20,422 out a dream. 419 00:22:25,177 --> 00:22:26,844 Former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant-- 420 00:22:26,845 --> 00:22:28,012 has a new title. 421 00:22:28,013 --> 00:22:29,847 He's an Oscar nominee. 422 00:22:29,848 --> 00:22:33,393 Kobe got the nod for Dear Basketball. 423 00:22:33,518 --> 00:22:37,688 By the time Kobe was up for an Academy Award nomination, 424 00:22:37,689 --> 00:22:41,859 the world was a little more enlightened, perhaps. 425 00:22:41,860 --> 00:22:43,861 If you've been online this week at all, 426 00:22:43,862 --> 00:22:46,364 ♪ you will have seen the hashtag 427 00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:48,032 Men in particular all around the world 428 00:22:48,033 --> 00:22:50,201 are going to have to deal with the consequences 429 00:22:50,202 --> 00:22:51,702 of their actions. 430 00:22:51,703 --> 00:22:54,706 And drawing an almost immediate reaction on social media 431 00:22:54,831 --> 00:22:59,753 ♪ from basketball star Kobe Bryant. 432 00:22:59,878 --> 00:23:02,171 You don't get to pack Colorado away, never 433 00:23:02,172 --> 00:23:03,172 to be heard from again. 434 00:23:03,173 --> 00:23:04,840 That's not how life works. 435 00:23:04,841 --> 00:23:06,218 How do you plead? 436 00:23:06,343 --> 00:23:07,885 Not guilty or guilty? 437 00:23:07,886 --> 00:23:09,345 Not guilty. 438 00:23:09,346 --> 00:23:10,888 And that's certainly how those people who petitioned 439 00:23:10,889 --> 00:23:15,727 his nomination felt. But maybe the Academy didn't care. 440 00:23:15,852 --> 00:23:18,438 The nomination was not rescinded. 441 00:23:24,069 --> 00:23:26,487 Kobe! 442 00:23:26,488 --> 00:23:29,907 It was the first time for me ever to be at the 443 00:23:29,908 --> 00:23:31,242 Academy Awards. 444 00:23:31,243 --> 00:23:32,368 Then to hear-- 445 00:23:32,369 --> 00:23:34,413 Dear Basketball, Glen Keane-- 446 00:23:34,538 --> 00:23:40,084 And I looked over, and I'm used to Kobe like always 447 00:23:40,085 --> 00:23:41,710 on top of it. 448 00:23:41,711 --> 00:23:44,922 I look over and just thinking, why is he-- why is he waiting? 449 00:23:44,923 --> 00:23:50,637 And Kobe was like, I couldn't believe my ears. 450 00:23:50,762 --> 00:23:53,389 He goes into this really fast Italian-- 451 00:23:54,891 --> 00:23:57,477 To my wife Vanessa, our daughters, Natalia, Gianna, 452 00:23:57,602 --> 00:23:59,980 and Bianka, [Italian]. 453 00:24:00,105 --> 00:24:02,523 You are my inspiration. 454 00:24:02,524 --> 00:24:05,025 My daughter gave me the best piece of advice. 455 00:24:05,026 --> 00:24:09,738 I was a little worried about turning this into a film. 456 00:24:09,739 --> 00:24:11,283 I'd never done something like that before. 457 00:24:11,408 --> 00:24:15,244 And my little 11-year-old Gianna goes, well, Dad, you always tell 458 00:24:15,245 --> 00:24:16,997 us to go after our dreams, so-- 459 00:24:20,125 --> 00:24:23,210 Kobe Bryant winning an Oscar stunned a lot of people, 460 00:24:23,211 --> 00:24:27,214 given Kobe Bryant's history with allegations of sexual assault. 461 00:24:27,215 --> 00:24:28,549 I mean, it shows that Hollywood is 462 00:24:28,550 --> 00:24:30,051 willing to forgive and forget. 463 00:24:32,512 --> 00:24:36,807 What happened in Colorado damaged lives, 464 00:24:36,808 --> 00:24:44,815 but I do believe that it played a role in Kobe transforming 465 00:24:44,816 --> 00:24:47,194 into the person that he became. 466 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:51,323 You can't help but be different-- the challenges, who 467 00:24:51,448 --> 00:24:52,824 you are as a person. 468 00:24:52,949 --> 00:24:54,826 And the only thing that you can do 469 00:24:54,951 --> 00:24:57,328 is just put one foot in front of the other 470 00:24:57,329 --> 00:25:00,665 and just continue to move forward. 471 00:25:00,790 --> 00:25:07,171 He engaged unconditionally with his daughters. 472 00:25:07,172 --> 00:25:08,882 In a way, I may have hurt your mom. 473 00:25:09,007 --> 00:25:13,010 You all are never, ever, ever going to feel that level of pain 474 00:25:13,011 --> 00:25:14,637 coming from me. 475 00:25:14,638 --> 00:25:19,475 I'm going to love them harder than any other father could ever 476 00:25:19,476 --> 00:25:20,852 love any of his children. 477 00:25:20,977 --> 00:25:24,021 I think fatherhood meant everything to Kobe's life. 478 00:25:24,022 --> 00:25:26,607 His first was Natalia, which he called Nani. 479 00:25:26,608 --> 00:25:30,319 His second was Gigi, and then BB. 480 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,155 I can be an absolute teddy bear at home with my family, 481 00:25:33,156 --> 00:25:35,658 with my kids, and enjoying that family time. 482 00:25:35,659 --> 00:25:39,954 And I'm really psychotic about having that family time. 483 00:25:39,955 --> 00:25:43,750 Once Kobe retired, he could immerse himself in his girls. 484 00:25:45,961 --> 00:25:52,092 Gigi said to Kobe, Dad, I want you to teach me. 485 00:25:52,217 --> 00:25:56,887 He said, well, that means you're going to have to get up at 4:00 486 00:25:56,888 --> 00:25:59,515 in the morning, and we're going to have to get on the 487 00:25:59,516 --> 00:26:00,725 court together. 488 00:26:00,850 --> 00:26:01,809 You ready to do that? 489 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:02,476 Yes. 490 00:26:02,477 --> 00:26:04,895 No hesitation. 491 00:26:04,896 --> 00:26:09,276 What I used to get from him a lot was videos of Gigi playing. 492 00:26:09,401 --> 00:26:13,195 And it would be moves, like step back, fall away moves. 493 00:26:15,407 --> 00:26:17,409 Who does this remind you of? 494 00:26:17,534 --> 00:26:21,745 The first interaction I had with the Gigi 495 00:26:21,746 --> 00:26:25,917 was the 2019 All-Star game in Las Vegas. 496 00:26:26,042 --> 00:26:28,920 He says, Gigi, I want you to meet one of the best that's ever 497 00:26:29,045 --> 00:26:30,379 played the game. 498 00:26:30,380 --> 00:26:33,382 I say, I can't wait to see what you're going to do in the WNBA, 499 00:26:33,383 --> 00:26:36,010 because you're going to tear it up. 500 00:26:36,011 --> 00:26:38,554 He's playing defense on her, and I love how she gives him 501 00:26:38,555 --> 00:26:40,180 a little jab. 502 00:26:40,181 --> 00:26:46,520 Even at a young age, you can see where Kobe was really starting 503 00:26:46,521 --> 00:26:47,981 to teach her the game. 504 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:52,776 Well, coaching the kids is fun. 505 00:26:52,777 --> 00:26:54,613 My daughter just decided she wanted to play, 506 00:26:54,738 --> 00:26:57,449 and then she made a local all-star team. 507 00:26:57,574 --> 00:27:00,242 And that's where we met the rest of the girls that are now 508 00:27:00,243 --> 00:27:01,577 on the team. 509 00:27:01,578 --> 00:27:04,538 The Mambas was his girls that he was coaching. 510 00:27:04,539 --> 00:27:09,209 I went to a practice to see how structured it was. 511 00:27:09,210 --> 00:27:12,797 I was like, damn, this is like an NBA practice around here. 512 00:27:15,467 --> 00:27:17,885 He was telling me a year or so prior 513 00:27:17,886 --> 00:27:24,099 that they was losing every game, and they got back 514 00:27:24,100 --> 00:27:25,644 to kicking people's ass. 515 00:27:25,769 --> 00:27:28,312 And it was because of him and what he was instilling 516 00:27:28,313 --> 00:27:30,315 in those girls, the confidence. 517 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,987 More important than the game itself is how you understand 518 00:27:36,112 --> 00:27:39,990 that their confidence as young women 519 00:27:39,991 --> 00:27:44,829 grows tremendously through playing the sport. 520 00:27:44,954 --> 00:27:51,169 Coaching youth sports is so important because you're helping 521 00:27:51,294 --> 00:27:53,962 the emotional development of young kids. 522 00:27:53,963 --> 00:27:55,798 It's been beautiful watching them grow. 523 00:27:55,799 --> 00:28:00,302 He was really wrapped up with his girls, and you can feel it. 524 00:28:00,303 --> 00:28:01,888 You can see it there. 525 00:28:02,013 --> 00:28:03,806 The best thing that happens is when we go out 526 00:28:03,807 --> 00:28:06,308 and fans will come up to me, and she'll be standing next to me. 527 00:28:06,309 --> 00:28:08,644 And they'll be like, hey, you got to have a boy. 528 00:28:08,645 --> 00:28:10,270 You and V got to have a boy, man. 529 00:28:10,271 --> 00:28:12,565 You got to have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy. 530 00:28:12,691 --> 00:28:14,441 She's like, oi, I got this. 531 00:28:15,610 --> 00:28:17,820 It's funny he talks about, everybody 532 00:28:17,821 --> 00:28:20,197 says you should have a boy. 533 00:28:20,198 --> 00:28:21,198 Why? 534 00:28:21,199 --> 00:28:22,449 He was all in on his girls. 535 00:28:22,450 --> 00:28:23,410 All in. 536 00:28:23,535 --> 00:28:24,244 Yes, you do. 537 00:28:24,369 --> 00:28:25,786 You got this. 538 00:28:25,787 --> 00:28:27,538 He believed in his daughter, so he was just-- he was just 539 00:28:27,539 --> 00:28:29,123 dreaming. That's what Kobe did. 540 00:28:29,124 --> 00:28:30,499 He was a dreamer. 541 00:28:30,500 --> 00:28:32,377 Do you think your daughter might want to play in the WNBA? 542 00:28:32,502 --> 00:28:33,502 She does, for sure. She does? 543 00:28:33,503 --> 00:28:35,003 Yeah, I know what it means. 544 00:28:35,004 --> 00:28:36,130 This kid, man. 545 00:28:36,131 --> 00:28:40,509 The year the WNBA orange hoodies first came out, 546 00:28:40,510 --> 00:28:44,055 Kobe is the first that I can remember wearing the hoodie, 547 00:28:44,180 --> 00:28:45,472 sitting courtside. 548 00:28:45,473 --> 00:28:49,894 Once I saw his focus on wanting women's basketball to grow, 549 00:28:50,019 --> 00:28:52,312 they wanted his mentorship, and he was more than willing-- 550 00:28:52,313 --> 00:28:53,647 I think there are a couple players that could play 551 00:28:53,648 --> 00:28:55,232 in the NBA right now, honestly. 552 00:28:55,233 --> 00:28:57,985 I mean, there's a lot of players that have a lot of skill that 553 00:28:57,986 --> 00:28:59,237 can do it. 554 00:28:59,362 --> 00:29:02,782 Training with players like Sabrina, Napheesa Collier-- 555 00:29:02,907 --> 00:29:06,493 Jewell Loyd, Kobe Bryant said, you're the Gold Mamba; 556 00:29:06,494 --> 00:29:09,789 Diana Taurasi, oh, you're the White Mamba. 557 00:29:09,914 --> 00:29:13,500 I think the word Mamba sort of, the genesis of it 558 00:29:13,501 --> 00:29:15,128 was obviously the Black Mamba. 559 00:29:15,253 --> 00:29:18,922 And then it became sort of, I don't know, 560 00:29:18,923 --> 00:29:24,094 it was a compliment to be called a Mamba of some kind. 561 00:29:24,095 --> 00:29:29,809 Yeah, if they put that villain label on you, don't run from it. 562 00:29:29,934 --> 00:29:33,687 Embrace it and turn it into being a hero. 563 00:29:33,688 --> 00:29:35,105 I can still dunk. 564 00:29:35,106 --> 00:29:36,690 Yeah. 565 00:29:36,691 --> 00:29:39,234 We watched how he had transformed once he stopped 566 00:29:39,235 --> 00:29:40,278 playing basketball. 567 00:29:40,403 --> 00:29:42,113 Kobe, to your left! 568 00:29:42,238 --> 00:29:46,617 He's about to really be a whole another person. 569 00:29:46,618 --> 00:29:49,077 A congrats in order for Kobe Bryant. 570 00:29:49,078 --> 00:29:52,790 Kobe's wife, Vanessa, gave birth to a girl this week, 571 00:29:52,791 --> 00:29:57,586 and she shares a name with her Dad, Capri Kobe Bryant. 572 00:29:57,587 --> 00:29:59,631 When I saw him in 2019, I'm like, 573 00:29:59,756 --> 00:30:02,758 you look so happy, like really happy. 574 00:30:02,759 --> 00:30:06,513 He's like, I am so happy. 575 00:30:09,724 --> 00:30:11,308 The last week of January. 576 00:30:11,309 --> 00:30:14,479 Sunday morning we're going to see more clouds and cooler air 577 00:30:14,604 --> 00:30:16,022 moving in. 578 00:30:16,147 --> 00:30:18,191 Dense fog advisories now issued through tomorrow morning. 579 00:30:20,735 --> 00:30:24,489 And then the last thing you think is someone's going to 580 00:30:24,614 --> 00:30:26,949 pass away. 581 00:30:26,950 --> 00:30:28,159 L.A. County Fire department. 582 00:30:28,284 --> 00:30:30,619 I just heard a helicopter go over me. 583 00:30:30,620 --> 00:30:31,620 It went over my head. 584 00:30:31,621 --> 00:30:33,373 It's thick in clouds. 585 00:30:33,498 --> 00:30:34,666 And then I just-- 586 00:30:34,791 --> 00:30:38,002 I heard a pop, and it immediately stopped. 587 00:30:38,127 --> 00:30:41,214 I'm getting text messages, phone is ringing, 588 00:30:41,339 --> 00:30:46,510 and I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. 589 00:30:46,511 --> 00:30:52,349 There are some people that you feel are invincible. 590 00:30:52,350 --> 00:30:55,270 And I felt like Kobe Bryant was invincible. 591 00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:21,670 Breaking news to bring you out of California. 592 00:31:21,671 --> 00:31:23,505 Los Angeles County Fire Department 593 00:31:23,506 --> 00:31:25,841 just briefed reporters. 594 00:31:25,842 --> 00:31:28,844 We received a call of an aircraft down. 595 00:31:28,845 --> 00:31:30,096 This was a helicopter. 596 00:31:30,221 --> 00:31:32,098 We just know that it's multiple fatalities, 597 00:31:32,223 --> 00:31:33,641 and there were no survivors. 598 00:31:39,898 --> 00:31:41,565 Tell me this isn't true. 599 00:31:41,566 --> 00:31:43,233 No, I'm not going to believe that. 600 00:31:43,234 --> 00:31:45,570 I'm not going to believe that. 601 00:31:45,695 --> 00:31:48,072 I can remember I'm shaking. 602 00:31:48,197 --> 00:31:50,407 I'm looking through my phone. 603 00:31:50,408 --> 00:31:51,743 Nobody knows. 604 00:31:51,868 --> 00:31:53,745 Nobody confirmed anything, right? 605 00:31:53,870 --> 00:31:56,581 So I call his sister. 606 00:31:56,706 --> 00:31:57,624 No answer. 607 00:31:57,749 --> 00:31:59,751 Call his cousin. 608 00:31:59,876 --> 00:32:00,627 No answer. 609 00:32:00,752 --> 00:32:02,086 And I'm like-- 610 00:32:02,211 --> 00:32:05,339 My phone rings, and it's my boss from the NBA. 611 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:07,716 The first thing he says to me, you have a TV there? 612 00:32:07,717 --> 00:32:08,592 And I said, yeah. 613 00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:09,885 He says, turn it on. 614 00:32:09,886 --> 00:32:11,929 We begin with this tragic breaking news. 615 00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,933 One of the greatest basketball players of all time-- 616 00:32:15,058 --> 00:32:18,435 NBA star Kobe Bryant was on board that helicopter. 617 00:32:18,436 --> 00:32:23,065 Absolute shock and speechlessness in Los Angeles. 618 00:32:37,789 --> 00:32:42,793 I looked on my phone, and alert came that said Kobe Bryant dies 619 00:32:42,794 --> 00:32:45,462 in a plane crash. 620 00:32:45,463 --> 00:32:48,465 I went numb. 621 00:32:48,466 --> 00:32:50,592 I called Tracy. 622 00:32:50,593 --> 00:32:51,511 I pick it up. 623 00:32:51,636 --> 00:32:54,137 She's like, are you OK? 624 00:32:54,138 --> 00:32:57,307 What are you talking about, am I OK? 625 00:32:57,308 --> 00:33:00,311 She said, oh, my God, oh, my God, Kobe just died. 626 00:33:00,436 --> 00:33:05,399 And he said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 627 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:06,608 It's louder and louder. 628 00:33:06,609 --> 00:33:09,111 No, no, no, no. 629 00:33:09,112 --> 00:33:13,448 No, no, no, no, no. 630 00:33:13,449 --> 00:33:15,450 He hung up on me. 631 00:33:15,451 --> 00:33:20,831 And I called him back, and he was crying. 632 00:33:20,832 --> 00:33:22,499 And he said, I can't talk. I can't talk. 633 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:23,125 I can't talk. 634 00:33:23,126 --> 00:33:25,460 I could not believe. 635 00:33:25,461 --> 00:33:26,337 Not Kobe. 636 00:33:26,462 --> 00:33:27,504 Not Kobe. 637 00:33:27,505 --> 00:33:30,173 No, not Kobe. 638 00:33:30,174 --> 00:33:34,136 I cried all day, all night. 639 00:33:34,137 --> 00:33:36,680 Kobe had a very, very, very special relationship 640 00:33:36,681 --> 00:33:42,895 with my kids from damn near from the time they were born. 641 00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:45,022 We have pictures all over our house of Kobe 642 00:33:45,023 --> 00:33:47,983 with our kids in different stages of their lives. 643 00:33:47,984 --> 00:33:53,488 And the thing that got me that was hardest for me 644 00:33:53,489 --> 00:33:57,367 was telling them. 645 00:33:57,368 --> 00:33:59,412 Yeah, I've done some hard shit in my life, 646 00:33:59,537 --> 00:34:05,792 but that was one of the most difficult ones I had, really. 647 00:34:05,793 --> 00:34:07,169 It's 11:30. 648 00:34:07,170 --> 00:34:08,837 I got to go pick up my daughter. 649 00:34:08,838 --> 00:34:10,797 And this is when they reported that-- 650 00:34:10,798 --> 00:34:15,969 Kobe's daughter, Gianna, known as Gigi, she's 13 years old, 651 00:34:15,970 --> 00:34:20,390 was also on board the helicopter. 652 00:34:20,391 --> 00:34:22,517 Yeah. 653 00:34:22,518 --> 00:34:26,521 And my daughter was crying, and I was crying. 654 00:34:26,522 --> 00:34:36,531 And I just had to pull over and collect myself. 655 00:34:36,532 --> 00:34:40,744 And I immediately thought of Vanessa. 656 00:34:40,745 --> 00:34:47,293 Because as a parent, and as a wife, but as a parent, 657 00:34:47,418 --> 00:34:52,381 you never think that you're going to lose your child. 658 00:34:55,259 --> 00:34:58,428 There were so many people that lost their lives that day. 659 00:34:58,429 --> 00:35:01,432 On board were Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, members 660 00:35:01,557 --> 00:35:04,143 of the Altobelli family, John, his wife, Keri, 661 00:35:04,268 --> 00:35:05,602 and their daughter, Alyssa. 662 00:35:05,603 --> 00:35:08,230 Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton, were on board-- 663 00:35:08,231 --> 00:35:12,485 the pilot, Ara Zobian, and Christina Mauser. 664 00:35:12,610 --> 00:35:13,777 So sad indeed. 665 00:35:13,778 --> 00:35:16,279 They were simply going to a girls' basketball game. 666 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:22,452 I think the world actually stood still for a moment. 667 00:35:22,453 --> 00:35:26,748 Players taking 24-second pauses to start the games to honor 668 00:35:26,749 --> 00:35:30,961 the man who, of course, wore 24 for much of his career. 669 00:35:30,962 --> 00:35:33,588 We all have had our ups and downs and our trials 670 00:35:33,589 --> 00:35:34,756 and tribulations. 671 00:35:34,757 --> 00:35:36,383 He's gotten through all of those and has come out 672 00:35:36,384 --> 00:35:39,637 on the other end a better man for that. 673 00:35:39,762 --> 00:35:41,930 Kobe! 674 00:35:41,931 --> 00:35:44,642 Hundreds of people have gathered here at the Staples center. 675 00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:45,977 It's like a family member. 676 00:35:46,102 --> 00:35:47,811 I haven't felt this way since my father died. 677 00:35:47,812 --> 00:35:50,647 One of the reasons I picked up basketball, one of the reasons 678 00:35:50,648 --> 00:35:52,941 why I continue this day. 679 00:35:52,942 --> 00:35:56,821 Does not-- it just doesn't seem real. 680 00:35:56,946 --> 00:35:58,321 I miss Kobe. 681 00:35:58,322 --> 00:35:59,948 Yeah, sorry, sorry. 682 00:35:59,949 --> 00:36:02,368 I just need a minute. 683 00:36:02,493 --> 00:36:07,622 Seeing all the artwork on every wall, paintings of Kobe 684 00:36:07,623 --> 00:36:13,045 everywhere, I just thought immediately of him talking to me 685 00:36:13,171 --> 00:36:18,008 about how-- 686 00:36:18,009 --> 00:36:22,012 how your life counts. 687 00:36:22,013 --> 00:36:24,264 What makes your life count? 688 00:36:24,265 --> 00:36:26,893 It's touching as many people as you can. 689 00:36:29,437 --> 00:36:32,606 Well, even on people that he's never met beyond just being 690 00:36:32,607 --> 00:36:35,609 an amazing basketball player but how he was evolving 691 00:36:35,610 --> 00:36:40,907 and the steps that he was taking on his next chapter in life. 692 00:36:49,540 --> 00:36:53,001 I was never supposed to outlive Kobe Bryant. 693 00:36:53,002 --> 00:36:54,295 That wasn't the plan. 694 00:36:56,797 --> 00:36:59,883 I watched him grow up. 695 00:36:59,884 --> 00:37:04,804 He watched me grow old, and then he was going to watch me as I 696 00:37:04,805 --> 00:37:06,306 went to the next life. 697 00:37:06,307 --> 00:37:10,852 I wasn't going to see him do that and his daughter. 698 00:37:10,853 --> 00:37:18,026 That thing about "time heals all wounds," that's not true. 699 00:37:18,027 --> 00:37:19,153 They don't heal. 700 00:37:34,126 --> 00:37:39,673 Kobe was the MVP of girl dads, or MVD. 701 00:37:39,674 --> 00:37:46,429 What I felt in that room was Mrs. Bryant's love for him. 702 00:37:46,430 --> 00:37:48,265 I was amazed that she was able to do that. 703 00:37:48,266 --> 00:37:49,891 I admired her greatly. 704 00:37:49,892 --> 00:37:53,938 She's very fiercely protective of his legacy, of their family. 705 00:37:54,063 --> 00:37:58,066 He always told the girls how beautiful and smart they are. 706 00:37:58,067 --> 00:38:02,279 He taught them how to be brave and how to keep pushing forward 707 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,531 when things get tough. 708 00:38:04,532 --> 00:38:08,201 As they kept doing the camera around the whole arena, 709 00:38:08,202 --> 00:38:11,538 I saw Joe and I saw Pam. 710 00:38:11,539 --> 00:38:14,333 That was hard to watch, but I think what was even harder 711 00:38:14,458 --> 00:38:16,543 to watch was to watch them not get acknowledged. 712 00:38:16,544 --> 00:38:19,630 I mean, he's gone, and they never made up. 713 00:38:22,717 --> 00:38:25,385 Had he been able to grow older, I would have hoped that he would 714 00:38:25,386 --> 00:38:28,514 have been able to say, look, I've been given all of this. 715 00:38:28,639 --> 00:38:34,602 Let me find a way back to the foundation of my life. 716 00:38:34,603 --> 00:38:39,317 When did you know that you would like to be a basketball player? 717 00:38:43,362 --> 00:38:45,947 Since I was really, really young. 718 00:38:51,537 --> 00:38:54,289 Something that my parents instilled in us early, 719 00:38:54,290 --> 00:38:56,458 you make sure you give maximum effort all the time 720 00:38:56,459 --> 00:38:58,377 and make sure it's done the right way. 721 00:39:01,505 --> 00:39:04,050 Walking on the hardwood, lacing up your sneakers, 722 00:39:04,175 --> 00:39:04,884 I just love it. 723 00:39:05,009 --> 00:39:05,759 I love jumping. 724 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:06,677 I love dunking. 725 00:39:09,013 --> 00:39:11,931 My father always challenged me to become a better basketball 726 00:39:11,932 --> 00:39:13,726 player than him. 727 00:39:13,851 --> 00:39:16,896 I have decided to skip college and take my talents to the NBA. 728 00:39:22,693 --> 00:39:25,862 Everybody watched him grow up, watched him to become this sort 729 00:39:25,863 --> 00:39:26,906 of force. 730 00:39:30,284 --> 00:39:31,951 Kobe Bryant, how do you want to be remembered? 731 00:39:31,952 --> 00:39:34,914 I just want to be remembered as a down-to-Earth person, a guy 732 00:39:35,039 --> 00:39:37,583 who enjoyed his teammates, enjoyed his classmates, 733 00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:40,460 and was able to excel in basketball. 734 00:39:40,461 --> 00:39:44,005 But overall, I don't want to be remembered as just a 735 00:39:44,006 --> 00:39:46,716 basketball player. 736 00:39:46,717 --> 00:39:50,845 He was still on a journey, a path of understanding 737 00:39:50,846 --> 00:39:53,724 how he was going to impact this world. 738 00:39:53,849 --> 00:39:59,312 In his afterlife, he has become something that very rarely has 739 00:39:59,313 --> 00:40:03,733 ever been seen by anybody, anybody. 740 00:40:03,734 --> 00:40:06,986 I believe the outer grief, the collective grief that came out 741 00:40:06,987 --> 00:40:12,826 of Kobe's death, is rooted in redemption. 742 00:40:12,827 --> 00:40:16,579 Certainly, I was open for Kobe Bryant redeeming himself. 743 00:40:16,580 --> 00:40:17,914 Do I think he got there? 744 00:40:17,915 --> 00:40:18,916 I don't know. 745 00:40:19,041 --> 00:40:20,542 From people I've talked with who know him, 746 00:40:20,543 --> 00:40:21,918 it seemed like he got there. 747 00:40:21,919 --> 00:40:25,423 It seemed like he certainly changed. 748 00:40:25,548 --> 00:40:26,632 People are complex. 749 00:40:26,757 --> 00:40:28,091 We want everyone to be good. 750 00:40:28,092 --> 00:40:29,592 We want everybody to be bad. 751 00:40:29,593 --> 00:40:31,637 And that's just not it. 752 00:40:31,762 --> 00:40:36,266 We're all human, and we all make mistakes. 753 00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:37,934 I think that's what makes us us. 754 00:40:37,935 --> 00:40:42,730 It's a fact that we can be both, and we just hope that the hero 755 00:40:42,731 --> 00:40:46,109 side of us manifests itself more frequently than the villain 756 00:40:46,110 --> 00:40:47,027 nature does. 757 00:40:58,122 --> 00:41:02,460 All of us have got that dark and that light side. 758 00:41:02,585 --> 00:41:04,043 None of us is perfect. 759 00:41:04,044 --> 00:41:08,715 Kobe lived it in a way that the world watched. 760 00:41:08,716 --> 00:41:13,137 Struggle, victory, redemption, these 761 00:41:13,262 --> 00:41:16,140 are the elements that Kobe embraced. 762 00:41:21,020 --> 00:41:24,815 How do you channel the villain to unleash the hero? 763 00:41:24,940 --> 00:41:28,943 How do you use darkness to create greatness? 764 00:41:28,944 --> 00:41:34,325 How do each of us navigate through our own insecurities, 765 00:41:34,450 --> 00:41:37,785 own moments of doubt? 766 00:41:37,786 --> 00:41:40,955 Imagination is key because you have to be able to envision it 767 00:41:40,956 --> 00:41:43,709 and dream it first. 768 00:41:43,834 --> 00:41:45,460 Put one foot in front of the other, 769 00:41:45,461 --> 00:41:47,213 you control what you can control, 770 00:41:47,338 --> 00:41:50,174 and then you see what the outcome is. 771 00:41:50,299 --> 00:41:51,841 Chase that dream.