THE GLOBE. >> MIGUEL, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
>>> JOINED NOW BY KENNY SMITH,
FORMER NBA GREAT, ANALYST FOR
THE NBA ON TNT NOW.
KNEW KOBE WELL.
COVERED HIS CAREER WELL.
AND ANDREW BERNSTEIN WROTE THE
BOOK ON KOBE BRYANT.
HE IS A PHOTOGRAPHER THAT WORKED
FOR THE NBA AND LAKERS.
HE GOES BACK DECADES.
THE OFFICIAL TEAM PHOTOGRAPHER.
HE WORKED CLOSELY WITH KOBE,
GLAB
GLAB COLLABORATING ON HIS BOOK, "THE
MAMBA MENTALITY."
MAMBA MENTALITY." FOLKS THAT ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH
MAMBA, WHERE IS THAT FROM?
>> KOBE ADOPTED THAT ABOUT HALF
WAY THROUGH HIS CAREER.
AND IT REALLY STANDS FOR CON
TANT
TANT CONSTANTLY BEING FEAR LUS AND
CURIOUS.
CURIOUS. HE PLAYED THE GAME LIKE THAT
EVERY NIGHT.
EVERY NIGHT. ’PROECHD IT
’PROECHD IT HE APPROACHED HIS LIFE THAT WAY
AS WELL.
AS WELL. >> KENNY, YOU’VE BEEN ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LEAGUE SINCE 1987.
NOT TO AGE OR DATE YOU.
BUT WHAT DID KOBE BRYANT MEAN TO
BASKETBALL?
BASKETBALL? WHAT DID HE MEAN TO THE NBA?
>> WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW,
OBVIOUSLY ICON IN TERMS OF HE
JUST HAD THE RELENTLESSNESS.
BUT EVEN THE GREAT PLAYERS WOULD
SAY AT TIMES THEY WOULDN’T
SACRIFICE SOME OF THE THINGS
THAT HE WOULD SACRIFICE TO BE
GREAT.
GREAT. SO THAT’S A TELLTALE OF HOW
GREAT HE WAS.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS
LATEST TRANSITION THAT HE WAS
GOING THROUGH AS A RETIRED DAD
AND HUSBAND THAT WE WERE
WITNESSING, I THINK THAT’S WHERE
WE ARE REMEMBERING HIM MOST.
DURING HIS PLAYING CAREER,
MELVIN, IT IS ALL ABOUT KOBE
KBRINT.
KBRINT. BRYANT.
BRYANT. IN RETIREMENT, HE MADE IT ALL
ABOUT HIS DAUGHTER AND FAMILY
WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, ENCOURAGING
TO WATCH.
TO WATCH. >> A LOT OF FOLKS, MYSELF
INCLUDED, WE REMEMBER THE
KOBE-SHAQ YEARS.
KOBE-SHAQ YEARS. YOU KNOW, ABOUT A BEING TO BACK
TO BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS.
YOU SPENT A LOT OF TOMB WITH THE
GUY.
GUY. I WAS SHAQ ON FRIDAY.
HOW IS HE DOING?
HOW IS SHAQUILLE?
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK THE BIG
THING THAT SHAQ AND EVERYONE IS,
YOU KNOW, WORRYING ABOUT THE
FAMILIES THAT WERE INSIDE THE
TRAGIC HELICOPTER CRASH.
ALONG WITH VANESSA, YOU KNOW, A
WIFE WHO LOST HER HUSBAND AND
DAUGHTER AT THE SAME TIME,
PEOPLE LOST THEIR FAMILY
MEMBERS.
MEMBERS. I THINK THAT’S WHERE THE BIGGEST
CONCERN IS.
CONCERN IS. AS IOURS.
AS IOURS. IT’S A DIFFICULT TIME FOR SUCH
AN ICONIC PERSON WHO MOVED THE
GAME FORWARD WITH HIS PLAY, WITH
HIS INSPIRATION AND AGAIN, HIS
ATTENTION TO DETAIL TO BE GREAT
WHICH CHALLENGES US AND SAID
WOULD WE ALL SACRIFICE THE
THINGS THAT WE HEAR HE
SACRIFICES TO BE GREAT?
WOULD YOU DO THAT?
>> AND THEN THERE WAS THE
INJURY.
INJURY. YOU KNOW, HE TORE HIS ACHILLES.
A LOT OF FOLKS THOUGHT THIS IS
IT F HE COMES BACK, HE’LL NEVER
BE THE SAME.
AND HE CAME BACK.
>> WELL, IT COMES BACK BECAUSE,
AGAIN, THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL,
RELENTLESSNESS TO ATTACK, TO
WANT TO BE GREAT.
AND ANDREW HAS TAKEN SUCH THE
ICONIC PICTURES THAT WE’VE SEEN
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER.
BUT IT REALLY DEFUNZ WHO HE WAS.
THE.
THE. >> AND DREW, YOUREW, YOU TOOK HI
PICTURE AS A LAKER.
YOU TOOK HIS LAST PICTURE AS A
LAKER.
LAKER. TELL ME ABOUT THE IN BETWEEN.
WHAT WAS THE EVOLUTION OF KOBE
BRYANT LIKE?
BRYANT LIKE? >> WELL, I MET HIM AS A WILD
EYEDED TEENAGER.
EYEDED TEENAGER. YOU KNOW, HE JUST TURNED 18.
I MET HIM ON THE SET AT MEDIA
DAY IN 1996.
AND I WATCHED HIM GROW FROM A
KID TO A MAN, TO A VETERAN,
CHAPEL
CHAPEL CHAMPION, OWE LUM PICKLYMPIC GOL
ICON.
ICON. HE WAS SO ARE AREVERED.
I DON’T KNOW IF WE’LL EVER SEE
THAT AGAIN.
THAT AGAIN. >> IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO
HEAR HIM THANK YOU ABOUT HIS
GIRLS, THE WAY HIS EYES WOULD
LIGHT UP.
LIGHT UP. >> FOR SURE.
HE LOVED HIS GIRLS.
I REMEMBER HE USED TO BRING THEM
TO THE PRESS CONFERENCES, YOU
KNOW, AFTER A PLAY-OFF GAME OR
FINALS GAME AND THEY’D BE
SITTING ON THINKS LAP IN LITTLE
LAKER GIRL OUTFITS.
THEY WAIT FOR HIM PASHLLYTIENTLY