I would say "good morning", but it's afternoon. I'm grateful to Vanessa and the Bryant
family for the opportunity to speak today. I'm grateful to be here to honor Gigi and
celebrate the gift that Kobe gave us all.
What he accomplished as a basketball player, as a businessman and a storyteller, and as
a father. In the game of basketball, in life, as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank.
He left it all on the floor.
Maybe it surprised people that Kobe and I were very close friends, but we were very close
friends. Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother. Everyone always wanted to
talk about that comparisons between he and I. I just wanted to talk about Kobe.
You know, all of us have brothers and sisters, little brothers, little sisters, who, for
whatever reason, always tend to get in your stuff, your closet, your shoes, everything.
It was a nuisance, if I can say that word. But that nuisance turned into love over a
period of time, just because the admiration that they had for you as big brothers or big
sisters. The questions. They are wanting to know every little detail about life that they
were about to embark on.
He used to call me, text me 11:30, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning, talking about post-up
moves, footwork, and sometimes the triangle. At first it was an aggravation. But then it
turned into a certain passion. This kid had passion like you would never know. And it's
an amazing thing about passion.
If you love something, if you have a strong passion for something, you will go to the
extreme to try to understand or try to get it. Either ice cream, hamburgers, whatever
you have a love for, if you have to walk, you would go get it. If you had to beg someone,
you would go get it.
What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way
either I played the game or the way that he wanted to play the game. He wanted to be the
best basketball player that he could be. And, as I got to know him, I wanted to be the
best big brother that I could be.
To do that, you had to put up with the aggravation, the late-night calls, or the dumb
questions. I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant that he was just trying to be
a better person, a better basketball player. We talked about business. We talked about
family. We talked about everything. And he was just trying to be a better person. Now
he's got me, I'll have to look at another crying meme for the next... I told my wife I
wasn't going to do this, 'cause I didn't want to see that for the next three or four
years. That is what Kobe Bryant does to me.
I'm pretty sure Vanessa and his friends all can say the same thing: he knows how to get
to you in a way that affects you personally, even though if he's being a pain I the
ass. But he always...you 'll have a sense of love for him in the way he can bring out the
best in you. And he did that for me.
I remember maybe a couple months ago he sends me a text. And he's saying: "I'm trying
to teach my daughter some moves." "And I don't know what I was thinking or what I was
working on, " "but what would you...what were you thinking about" "when you were trying
to...as you were growing up" "trying to work on your moves?" I said: "What age?" He says:
"12." I said: "12, I was trying to play baseball." He sends me a text back saying: "
Laughing my ass off." And this is at 2:00 in the morning.
But the thing about him was, we could talk about anything that related to basketball, but
we can talk about any thing that related to life. And we, as we grew up in life, rarely
have friends that we can have conversations like that. Well, it's even rarer when you can
grow up against adversaries and have a conversations like that.
I went and saw Phil Jackson in 1999, maybe 2000, I don't know, when Phil was here in
L.A.. And I walk in, and Kobe's sitting there. And the first thing...I'm in a suit. First
thing Kobe said: "Did you bring your shoes?" "No, I wasn't thinking about playing."
But his attitude, to compete and play against someone he felt like he could enhance
and improve his game with. To me, that's what I loved about the kid, absolutely loved
about the kid. No matter where he saw me, it was a challenge. And I admired him because
his passion. You rarely see someone who's looking and trying to improve each and every
day not just in sports, but as a parent, as a husband. I am inspired by what he's done
and what he's shared with Vanessa and what he's shared with his kids.
I have a daughter who's 30 who just...I became a grandparent. And I have two twins, I
have twins at 6. I can't wait to get home to become a girl dad and to hug them and to
see the love that they...and the smiles that they bring to us as parents. He taught me
that just by looking at this tonight, looking at how he responded and reacted with the
people that he actually loved. These are the things that we will continue to learn from
Kobe Bryant.
To Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri, my wife and I will keep you close in our hearts
and our prayers. We will always be here for you, always. I also want to offer our
condolences and support to all of the families affected by this enormous tragedy.
Kobe gave every last ounce of himself to what ever he was doing. After basketball, he
showed a creative side to himself that I didn't think any of us knew he had.
In retirement, he seemed so happy. He found new passion. And he continued to give back
as a coach in his community. More importantly, he was an amazing dad, amazing husband
who dedicated himself to his family and who loved his daughters with all his heart. Kobe
never left anything on the court. And I think that's what he would want for us to do.
No one knows how much time we have. That's why we must live in the moment, we must
enjoy the moment. We must reach and see and spend as much time as we can with our
families and friends and the people that we absolutely love. To live in the moment means
to enjoy each and every one that we come in contact with.
When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died. And as I look in this arena and across the
globe, a piece of you died, or else you wouldn't be here. Those are the memories that we
have to live with and we learn from. I promise you, from this day forward, I will live
with the memories of knowing that I had a little brother that I tried to help in every
way I could.
Please, rest in peace, little bro.