(audience clapping)
- We're showing L.A. some real love,
and while I admittedly don't know much
about sports ball, it's known,
you can't live in Los Angeles and not embrace the Lakers.
They're part of what makes the heart of this city beat.
I think everybody can agree on that.
My next guest, actually, is the owner of the team.
Last year, she became the first female controlling owner
to lead an NBA team to a championship.
(imitates trumpets)
(audience cheering)
Please welcome the leader Laker nation, Jeanie Buss, y'all!
(audience cheering) (country music)
Okay.
So, meet the ladies,
meet Kirby, meet Kristen. - Hi!
- The Queenpins looks fantastic!
- Thank you.
- You're a badass!
I just want to lead with that.
I'm very excited to have you here.
But the Lakers are, you know,
part of the glue that holds the city together.
Why do you think that is?
- Well, you know, when my dad bought the team back in 1979,
it was really important to him to give Los Angeles something
that we could all rally together.
And, what he did was,
he built a team that Los Angeles could, you know,
be proud of under a purple and gold flag.
And it was important for him for everybody to feel included,
to be Laker fans.
And we're all has been at Laker game.
Could you see, a Hollywood legend, like Jack Nicholson-
- I always see, he loves it! - Sitting there
with regular fans- - Yeah.
- Enjoying the game.
- Yeah, but let's talk about your role as a female owner.
That is so cool.
I'm so proud of you and I don't even know you,
but I do know.
(audience cheering) But I think it's so cool!
- But for me, the first thing that I thought was like,
who's going to be the next female
to do something like this? - Yeah.
- You know, because I know what it meant to me
to see women in powerful positions.
That inspired me.
- Yeah.
- And, you know, as a matter of fact,
it's important that not only we see women leading,
but that women can lead men.
And so the fact that the Lakers is a men's team.
(audience clapping) It's really important.
- That's so true.
So, we can't talk about the Lakers
without mentioning Kobe Bryant. Who was here.
I love him. I fell in love with him even in person.
And you know, that wasn't one of those
huge things to me, even if you didn't know him personally,
it really did hit.
I remember being in my house and we finding out the news,
like, it hit everyone.
And that's how powerful I do think that sports
and those figures can be for kids
or adults and that excitement in that place in time.
And I don't know how. And he really supported you. I heard.
So how, that must've been really hard
to come back from as a team.
- Yeah. I mean, you know, I mean,
we all lost somebody that was really special.
It's left a void in my life and a void for all Laker fans.
And, you know, I remember when my dad passed in 2013,
Kobe reached out to me
and invited me to have lunch with him in Orange County.
And, he brought his daughter Gianna along with them.
And he said, I hope you don't mind.
I brought Gianna with me
because I wanted him to see a woman in a position of power
and hear what you had to say.
- Yeah.
- And I know what he was doing,
was really motivating me
because, you know, there's all these little girls
that are looking up to a person like me,
in my position.
And, you know, that's the kind of thing that Kobe did,
would motivate,
He knew how to motivate people and to remind me
of how important what I'm doing is,
and through that, we can honor Kobe's memory.
And that's how we keep his legacy alive.
(audience clapping)
- It was interesting for people like me,
like, I met him on this show.
He came on and it was so funny,
cause I don't know a lot about sports,
but all we did was talk about his daughters.
And we talked about his wife,
and we talked about family stuff, and he's a writer,
and we just talked about something completely different.
So, I knew him differently than most,
but you can tell he's just so charismatic
and had so much pride in his girls.
And, it was just really cool how he was pushing, you know,
all the right people in the right places.
I felt like that was really cool.
It was true of his character. I think.
- Exactly.
And I saw that episode and I say to all Kobe fans
and Kelly fans to watch that episode,
because you guys really had a nice connection and-
- Well, he told me he married a tourist
and I was like, good luck.
I was like, your wife's a tourist?
Oh man, that's a fun house.
(laughs)
It was just really fun to get to know him,
'cause I would not, really, have known him
other than this show and to find out
how much he really pushed you
because most people would look at a female
owner of a team and go,
oh, she owns a women's basketball team.
- Right, right.
- You know, most people would think that, unfortunately.
- Well, as a matter of fact,
when the WNBA was founded back in 97,
the commissioner went to my dad and said,
well, I assume Jeanie's going to run the team.
And my dad said to him, no,
Jeanie is going to run the Lakers someday.
(audience cheering) - I love your dad.
That's so awesome!
(audience cheering)
It's so awesome and so supportive, and so cool.
What a great dad!