QUAD TOE TRIPLE TOE REALLY MILKE EVERY ELEMENT FOR EVERY CREATIVE
EXECUTION POINT THAT HE CAN
GET --
GET -- >>> THIS IS AN NBC SPECIAL
REPORT.
REPORT. HERE’S KATE SNOW.
>> WE’RE COMING ON THE AIR WITH
BREAKING NEWS, VERY SAD NEWS TO
TELL THE SPORTS WORLD.
THE L.A. TIMES IS REPORTING THAT
RETIRED LOS ANGELES LAKERS
BASKETBALL STORE KOBE BRYANT HAS
BEEN KILLED IN A HELICOPTER
CRASH.
CRASH. IT HAPPENED THIS MORNING.
THE CHOPPER WENT DOWN JUST
BEFORE 10:00 A.M. LOCAL TIME
ACCORDING TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
OUT THERE IN -- NORTHWEST OF LOS
ANGELES.
ANGELES. IT BURST INTO FLAMES FROM
IMPACT, STARTING A NEARBY BRUSH
FIRE.
FIRE. THE 41-YEAR-OLD KOBE BRYANT WAS
TRAVELING WITH FOUR OTHERS, ALL
FIVE PEOPLE PERISHED IN THE
CRASH.
CRASH. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT
THERE WERE FOGGY CONDITIONS IN
THAT AREA THAT MAY HAVE
DIMINISHED VISIBILITY.
DIMINISHED VISIBILITY. BRYANT LEAVES BEHIND A WIFE HAVE
A NECESSARYVANESS AND FOUR DAUGH
HE STARRED FOR TWO DECADES WITH
THE L.A. LAKERS, WINNING FIVE
CHAMPIONSHIPS, MAKING 18
ALL-STAR GAMES BEFORE HE RETIRED
IN 2016.
IN 2016. I WANT TO BRING IN NBC SPORTS
HOST MIKE TIRICO, JOINING US BY
PHONE NOW.
PHONE NOW. MIKE, I DON’T THINK WE CAN
OVERSTATE WHAT A LEGEND KOBE
BRYANT WAS.
BRYANT WAS. >> NO, KATE, CERTAINLY NOT.
AND EVERYONE IN THE SPORTS
WORLD, NOT JUST THE FOLKS WHO’VE
BEEN IN THE BASKETBALL WORLD,
ARE JUST SHOCKED BY THIS NEWS.
KOBE RETIRED FROM THE NBA IN
2016.
2016. HE’S A FOURTH ALL-TIME LEADING
SCORER, THE THIRD ALL-TIME
LEADING SCORER UNTIL YESTERDAY,
LeBRON JAMES PASSED HIS MARK
YESTERDAY AND KOBE TWEETED OUT
HIS CONGRATULATORY REMARKS
TOWARDS LeBRON.
TOWARDS LeBRON. AFTER THAT HE WAS WITH ONE OF
THE MARQUEE FRANCHISES IN THE
NBA, THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND
THAT ALLOWED THE HOLLYWOOD
PRESENCE THAT YOU’RE TALKING
ABOUT.
ABOUT. KOBE WAS A CELEBRITY, A STAR ON
AND OFF THE FLOOR.
HIS CHAMPIONSHIPS GO BACK 20
YEARS.
YEARS. HE CAME RIGHT FROM HIGH SCHOOL
TO THE NBA AT A TIME WHEN THAT
WAS NOT DONE VERY OFTEN AND
BECAME ONE OF THE GREATEST
PLAYERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE
LEAGUE.
LEAGUE. THIS IS A VERY CLOSE LEAGUE.
ITS SUPERSTARS AND ITS LEADERS
ARE IN A SMALL TIGHT CIRCLE.
I WAS IN NEW YORK AT RADIO CITY
MUSIC HALL WHERE THEY HAD AN
UNBELIEVABLE GATHERING OF
BASKETBALL GREATS, HONORING THE
LATE DAVID STERN, THE
COMMISSIONER WHO PASSED AWAY ON
JANUARY 1st AND THE COMMUNITY
WAS STILL SADDENED BY THE
COMMISSIONER’S PASSING 25 DAYS
LATER AND THAT WILL ONLY
DEVASTATE ALL THE BASKETBALL
COMMUNITY, AND ALL THE PEOPLE
WHO LOVED SPORTS BECAUSE KOBE
BRYANT TRULY WAS ONE OF THE
GREAT SPORTSMEN OF OUR
GENERATION.
GENERATION. >> MIKE, WE DON’T KNOW WHERE THE
HELICOPTER WAS COMING FROM AND
GOING TO AT THIS POINT.
IT WENT DOWN CALABASSAS IS NEAR
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA.
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA. I KNOW HE’S BEEN IN THE BUSINESS
WORLD OF LATE.
HE’S GOT A NUMBER OF PROJECTS.
HE’S HAD A NUMBER OF DEALS, I
THINK, WITH NIKE AND OTHERS.
EXPLAIN THAT, WHAT HAS HE BEEN
UP TO MORE RECENTLY?
>> SURE, HE RETIRED IN 2016,
KATE.
KATE. AND EVEN ON THE DAY OF HIS FINAL
GAME THAT I HAD THE CHANCE TO
BROADCAST HE SCORED 60 POINTS IN
THAT GAME, MOST THAT ANYBODY
SCORED IN THE NBA THAT YEAR AS
AN INDIVIDUAL.
AN INDIVIDUAL. KOBE WAS TAKING MEETINGS THAT
MORNING NEAR HIS HOUSE, NEAR HIS
OFFICE, NOT NEAR DOWNTOWN LOS
ANGELES.
ANGELES. YET, BECAUSE OF THE 20 YEARS IN
L.A. AND THE NOTORIOUS TRAFFIC
IN LOS ANGELES, KOBE, AS HE GOT
LATER IN HIS CAREER, WOULD
COMMUTE FROM HIS HOME WHERE HE
HAD AN OFFICE NEARBY, AND WOULD
COMMUTE VIA HELICOPTER DOWNTOWN
TO LOS ANGELES WHERE THEY PLAYED
AT THE STAPLES CENTER OR TO DO
OTHER THINGS.
OTHER THINGS. SO KOBE’S HELICOPTER HAS BEEN IN
USE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
SOME HAD REFERRED TO IT AS KOBE
1, LIKE AIR FORCE ONE, HIS
PERSONAL HELICOPTER FROM
COMMUTING DOWNTOWN L.A.
WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS, THAT’S
SOMETHING HE HAD USED OFTEN.
>> TALK MORE ABOUT HIS CAREER.
YOU’VE ALREADY HIT ON THE
HIGHLIGHTS.
HIGHLIGHTS. THIS WAS A SPECIAL PLAYER.
>> TWO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS, FIVE
NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS.
NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS. IN HIS 20 YEARS, HE WAS AN
ALL-STAR 18 TIMES, THE SECOND
MOST IN THE HISTORY OF THE
LEAGUE AND AS I SAID WAS FOURTH
IN POINTS.
IN POINTS. BUT THOSE STATS, AND ACCOLADES,
EXTRAORDINARY BY ANY ACCOUNTING.
PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE PEOPLE
WHO COMPETED AGAINST KOBE.
HE HAD A DESIRE TO DRIVE TO
COMPETE UNLIKE IN OTHER
ATHLETES.
ATHLETES. IF HIS MOM WAS THERE GUARDING
THE BASKET, HE WOULD GO OVER HIS
MOM FOR A HOOP.
THAT WAS KOBE, NICKNAMED THE
MAMBA, YOU’VE SEEN HIM TALK
ABOUT IT WITH MANY ATHLETES IN
VARIOUS SPORTS, RANGING FROM
OTHER NBA PLAYERS TO TEAMMATES
TO COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYERS
AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS
IN CURRENT DAY, THEY ALL HAVE
BEEN INSPIRED BY KOBE BRYANT’S
MENTALITY TO BE THAT EXTRA LEVEL
OF GREAT.
OF GREAT. YOU’VE BEEN SHOWING THE PICTURES
OF KOBE ON THE SCREEN.
ONE OF THEM IS WITH HIS
DAUGHTER.
DAUGHTER. HIS DAUGHTER, ONE OF THE FOUR
DAUGHTERS WAS A VERY GOOD YOUNG
BASKETBALL PLAYER AND WE’VE SEEN
LOTS OF SHOTS IN NBA GAMES IN
THE LAST TWO YEARS OF KOBE
TALKING BASKETBALL AND OTHER
THINGS WITH HIS DAUGHTER.
THAT’S JUST ONE OF MANY
HEARTBREAKING ASPECTS OF THIS
JUST -- UNBELIEVABLE STORY HERE.
>> UNBELIEVABLE.
>> UNBELIEVABLE. WE DIDN’T BELIEVE IT IN THE
NEWSROOM WHEN WE HEARD THE THE
FIRST REPORTS.
FIRST REPORTS. NBC NEWS HAS JUST CONFIRMED THE
PASSING, WE’RE NO LONGER
ATTRIBUTING THIS TO THE L.A.
TIMES, NBC NEWS HAS SPOKEN WITH
THE CITY MANAGER OF CALABASAS,
CALIFORNIA CONFIRMING KOBE
BRYANT DIED IN A HELICOPTER
CRASH.
CRASH. YOU CAN SEE THE WRECKAGE BURNING
IN THAT BACKGROUND SHOT.
THIS IS ABOUT 10:00 A.M. PACIFIC
TIME, SO ABOUT 1:00 P.M. EASTERN
TIME TODAY ON A SUNDAY.
MIKE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW, ARE
YOU HEARING YET FROM ANY GIANTS,
OTHER GIANTS IN THE WORLD OF
BASKETBALL OR SPORTS?
I ASSUME THERE WILL BE AN
OUTPOURING OF GRIEF.
>> THERE WILL BE, KATE.
AS IS THE CASE IN 2020, THIS
NEWS OFTEN TRANSFERS AROUND THE
COUNTRY MUCH QUICKER THAN IT
USED TO BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
AND JUST SEEING THE REPORTS AND
COMMENTS OF SOME ON SOCIAL
MEDIA, IT’S A COMPLETE
DEVASTATION, EMOTIONALLY FOR SO
MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE INSPIRED BY
KOBE.
KOBE. AND UNDOUBTEDLY AS YOU WATCH NOT
JUST NBA GAMES, BUT I THINK
GAMES IN ANY SPORT OVER THE NEXT
FOUR OR FIVE, SIX DAYS, YOU WILL
SEE EMOTIONAL TRIBUTES.
YOU’LL SEE KOBE’S NUMBER, EITHER
NUMBER 8 OR 24, OR BOTH IN HIS
CAREER, YOU’LL SEE THEM ON
SNEAKERS, YOU’LL SEE PLAYERS
WEARING THEM IF THEY CAN, YOU’LL
SEE DECEMBER PLAYS OF EMOTIONS
AND SIGNS AND OF COURSE MOMENTS
OF SILENCE.
OF SILENCE. NOT JUST IN THE NBA OR COLLEGE
BASKETBALL BUT SPORTS ALL OVER
THE COUNTRY GOING THROUGH THE
NEXT FEW WEEKS AND CERTAINLY THE
SPORTS WORLD WILL BE IN
MOURNING.
MOURNING. AT AGE 41 KOBE HAD SO MANY
THINGS BEYOND BASKETBALL PART OF
THIS LIFE, BEING A DAD TO THOSE
FOUR GIRLS AS WELL.
>> SO YOUNG.
MIKE TIRICO, WILL YOU STAY WITH
US ON THE PHONE.
I WANT TO GO TO SOME STOUND,
SOUND YOU’LL HEAR FROM L.A.
COUNTY’S FIRE DEPARTMENT.
THEIR PUBLIC INFORMATION
OFFICERS DESCRIBING WHAT
HAPPENED TO THIS HELICOPTER.
>> STILL EARLY ON IN THIS
INCIDENT, WE RECEIVED A CALL
JUST BEFORE 10:00 A.M. THIS
MORNING, L.A. COUNTY FIRE
DISPATCH OF AN AIRCRAFT DOWN
HERE IN THE MALIBU AREA RIGHT
OFF OF -- ESSENTIALLY CALABASAS.
AND APPARENTLY SOME FOLKS WERE
OUT HERE, MOUNTAIN BIKING THIS
MORNING, AND SAW AN AIRCRAFT IN
DISTRESS THAT WENT DOWN INTO THE
HILLSIDE.
HILLSIDE. THIS WAS A HELICOPTER, IT’S BEEN
CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS AN S-76.
AND UNFORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO
SURVIVORS.
SURVIVORS. >> AGAIN, WE’RE HERE AT NBC NEWS
IN NEW YORK.
I’M KATE SNOW AND WE’RE
REPORTING ON THE TRAGIC DEATH OF
KOBE BRYANT, KILLED IN A
HELICOPTER CRASH, ALONG WITH
FOUR OTHER PASSENGERS.
WE DON’T YET KNOW WHO THOSE FOUR
OTHER PASSENGERS WERE.
I WANT TO GO BACK TO MIKE TIRICO
BEFORE WE GO BACK TO NBC SPORTS.
MIKE, THIS IS A PERSON WHO, TO
ME, SEEMED LIKE A MENTOR TO
OTHERS.
OTHERS. SEEMED TO REALLY CARE ABOUT THE
FUTURE OF THE SPORT.
>> KATE, THAT WAS DEFINITELY
PART OF THE FINAL CHAPTER OF
KOBE BRYANT AS A PLAYER AND THEN
EMERGING INTO AS A BUSINESSMAN
OVER TIME HERE.
THERE WERE TIMES, TO GO BACK TO
WHEN HE AND SHAQUILLE O’NEILL IN
THE YEAR AFTER MICHAEL JORDAN
WON SIX TITLES IN EIGHT YEARS,
THE NEXT THREE YEARS WERE
DOMINATED, A ONE YEAR SPACE IN
BETWEEN BY THREE CONSECUTIVE
TITLES WITH SHAQUILLE O’NEILL
AND COKOBE BRYANT.
IN ANOTHER CHAPTER, AS KOBE WON
TWO MORE TITLES IN ’09 AND 2010,
AFTER THAT YOU SEE KOBE BECOME
MORE OF A MENTOR TO SOME OF THE
PLAYERS HE WAS AROUND, TO THE
STAR PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE AND
CERTAINLY IN THIS BUSINESS
VENTURE THAT WAS THE END OF HIS
CAREER, AND POST, KOBE WAS
TRYING TO HELP HIS -- PEOPLE WHO
TOUCHED HIM, REALLY, AS A
PLATFORM, TO TELL THEIR STORY,
AND TO DO GOOD STORY TELLING.
HE WAS INVOLVED IN SOME MEDIA
PROJECTS AS WELL AND WAS VERY
MUCH INVOLVED IN A NEXT CHAPTER.
>> MIKE, THERE WERE A COUPLE
FILMS, "DEAR BASKETBALL," AND
"KOBE BRYANT’S MUSE," HE WON
AWARDS FOR SOME OF THAT WORK.
THAT WAS PART OF HIS LATEST
CHAPTER.
CHAPTER. >> THAT IS CORRECT.
THAT’S WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO
WHEN WE DISCUSSED THE NEXT
CHAPTER OF HIS CAREER INVOLVING
SOME PRODUCTION.
SOME PRODUCTION. HE ENDED UP WINNING AN OSCAR FOR
ONE OF THE AWARDS THAT HE
ENDED -- OR ONE OF THE FILMS,
THE SHORT FILM "DEAR BASKETBALL"
WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY A POEM
THAT HE PUT, AND THAT REALLY DID
EXPLAIN HIS INCREDIBLE
CONNECTION TO THE GAME, WHERE
THAT PASSION DERIVED FROM THAT
WE SAW ON THE BASKETBALL FLOOR
FOR 20 YEARS.
>> MIKE TIRICO, THANK YOU FOR
WALKING US THROUGH THE PAIN
TODAY, SUCH HORRIBLE NEWS THAT
WE HAVE TO SHARE WITH AMERICA.
I APPRECIATE YOU BEING WITH US
ON THE PHONE.
I KNOW WE’LL SEE YOU AGAIN
PROBABLY ON NIGHTLY NEWS THIS
EVENING.
EVENING. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. >> OF COURSE.
>> JUST TO RECAP FOR THOSE JUST
JOINING US, NBC NEWS HAS
CONFIRMED WITH THE COUNTY
MANAGER, CITY MANAGER, RATHER,
OF CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA, THAT
KOBE BRYANT, ONE OF THE BIGGEST
NAMES IN THE NBA, HAS
UNFORTUNATELY PERISHED IN A
HELICOPTER CRASH IN CALABASAS,
CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA. OF COURSE WE’RE GOING TO HAVE
MUCH MORE ON ALL OF THIS, AND
THE LIFE OF KOBE BRYANT,
REMEMBERING HIM.
REMEMBERING HIM. ALL OF THAT WILL BE AHEAD
TONIGHT ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS.
WE HAVE OUR REPORTERS HEADING TO
THE FIELD AS WELL TO GET THE
LATEST INFORMATION ON WHAT
EXACTLY HAPPENED TO BRING DOWN
THAT HELICOPTER.
THAT HELICOPTER. AS YOU SEE THE SHOT THERE IN
CALABASAS.
CALABASAS. FOR NOW I’M KATE SNOW AT NBC
NEWS IN NEW YORK.
AND I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER,
FOR MOST OF YOU, YOU’LL GO BACK
TO SPORTS COVERAGE ON THE NBC
NETWORK.