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Remembering Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 24, 2020 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:00:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that was the first time I knew of your greatness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think about, what should I do to motivate this guy, this guy, this guy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An 81-point game!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Olympic champion, the United States of America!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Falls down. And he is hurting. But the Lakers need him at the free throw line. Got it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 60-point game! What an exit for number 24.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the Oscar goes to "Dear Basketball."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't just show up at games. He was deeply involved in them.

KOBE BRYANT, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: Coaching young kids is the most important thing we can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You couldn't have written this.

CROWD: Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": I have to believe that Kobe right now is looking down from heaven and going: I am determined to learn to play "Moonlight Sonata" than Alicia Keys.

(LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: Poor Chick Hearn is sitting there listening to it all.

(LAUGHTER) KIMMEL: In 1996, our next speaker faced an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant on the court for the first time.

Midway through the game, while playing, Kobe asked for tips on his jump shot. Kobe scored 33 points in that game against his boy hood idol. Michael scored 36 and won the game, too.

Please welcome Michael Jordan.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

MICHAEL JORDAN, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: 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 am 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.

(APPLAUSE)

JORDAN: 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.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: It was a nuisance, if I can say that world.

But that nuisance turned into love over a period of time, just because of 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.

[15:05:06]

He used to call me, text me 11:30, 2:30, 3:00 in the morning, talking about post-up moves, footwork, and sometimes the triangle.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: At first it was an aggravation.

(LAUGHTER) JORDAN: 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, Cokes, 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.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JORDAN: To do that, you had to put up with the aggravation, the late- night calls, or the dumb questions.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: 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 will have look at another crying meme for the next--

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JORDAN: I told my wife I wasn't going to do this, because I didn't want to see that for the next three or four years.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: But that is what Kobe Bryant does to me.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: 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 in the ass.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: But he always -- you had the sense of love for him in the way that 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.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: I said, 12, I was trying to play baseball.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: He sends me a text back saying, laughing my ass off.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: 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 anything 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 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?

(LAUGHTER)

[15:10:11]

JORDAN: No, I wasn't thinking about playing.

(LAUGHTER)

JORDAN: 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 shared with Vanessa and what he 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.

(APPLAUSE) JORDAN: 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 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 whatever 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 passions. 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.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: There have been many great (AUDIO GAP) of the NBA, but better or more fun to follow than Kobe and Shaq (AUDIO GAP)--

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JORDAN: -- city the Los Angeles, and their names will be linked for all time.

Please welcome (AUDIO GAP) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

[15:16:03]

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we have been watching the celebration of life of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13 years old, and all seven of the other people who died on that helicopter that crashed about a month ago.

We just heard an incredibly emotional speech from Michael Jordan. I think we're going to be able to rejoin now.

We are going to be listening to Shaquille O'Neal, who is standing up now and speaking about Kobe.

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, FORMER NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: But I can tell you Kobe -- what filled Kobe's heart with the most pride was his role as a loving husband to Vanessa, daddy to Gigi and Natalia, Bianka, and baby Capri, and a loving son and brother. Kobe was a loyal friend and a true Renaissance man.

As many of you know, Kobe and I had a very complex relationship throughout the years, but not unlike another leadership duo, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, whose creative rivalry led to some of the greatest music of all time.

Kobe and I pushed one another to play some of the greatest basketball of all time, and I am proud that no other team has accomplished what the three-peat Lakers have done since Shaq and the Kobe Lakers did it.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'NEAL: And, yes, sometimes, like immature kids, we argued, we fought, we bantered or insulted each other with offhand remarks, our feuds.

But make no mistake. Even when folks thought we were on bad terms, when the cameras were turned off, he and I would throw a wink at each and say, let's go whoop some ass.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'NEAL: We never took it seriously.

In truth, Kobe and I always maintained a deep respect and a love for one another.

The day I gained -- the day Kobe gained my respect was, the guys were complaining, said, Shaq, Kobe's not passing the ball. I said, I will talk to him.

(LAUGHTER)

O'NEAL: I said, Kobe, there's no I in team. Kobe said, I know, but there's an M-E in that motherfucker.

(LAUGHTER)

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'NEAL: So, I went back -- so I went back and told Rick and Big Shot Bob, I said, just get the rebound. He's not passing.

(LAUGHTER)

O'NEAL: Mamba, you were taken away from us way too soon. Your next chapter of life is just beginning, but now it's time for us to continue your legacy.

You said yourself that everything negative, pressure, challenges, is all opportunity for me to rise.

So we now take that sage advice and now rise from anguish and begin with the healing. Just know that we got your back, little brother. I will look after things down here. I will be sure to teach Natalia, Bianka and baby Capri all your moves. And I promise them I will not teach them my free throw techniques.

(LAUGHTER)

O'NEAL: But, for now, I take comfort in the fact, as we speak, Kobe and Gigi are holding hands walking to the nearest basketball court. Kobe will show her some new Mamba moves, and Gigi soon masters them.

Kobe, you're heaven's MVP. I love you, my man, until we meet again.

Rest in peace, Kobe.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYANT: Thank you. Thank you so much for tonight.

But, you know, it is not -- it's not about my jerseys that are hanging up there for me. You know, it is about the jerseys hanging up there before.

And without them, I couldn't be here today. They inspire me to play the game at a high level.

[15:20:05]

And it's also about the next generation, embodying the spirit that exists in those jerseys up there and carrying this organization forward, so that the next 20 years are better than the past 20 years. And that's what it's about.

And then it's also about the fans. Fans--

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BRYANT: And it's about family. It's about my wife, Vanessa. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BRYANT: You know, you guys don't know this, but the last game -- my last game that we had here against the Utah Jazz, I was really tired. I got home and I was like, you know what? I don't know if I can do this thing. I got one more game left. I don't have any legs.

And she said, I want to show you something. I got a gift for you for your last game. And she proceeded to show me a row of retired jerseys from Baylor, from Magic, from Shaq, from Cap, all with personal messages signed to me, including from Michael Jordan, including from the great Bill Russell, including from the great Larry Bird.

And when I saw that, I knew then I had to turn it up.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

O'NEAL: I had to turn it up.

So thank you, baby, for being an inspiration to me.

And, lastly, our daughters. Natalia, Gianna, and Bianka, I hope that tonight is not -- you guys know that, if you do the work, you work hard enough, dreams come true.

Thank you, guys, so much. I love you. Mamba out.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KIMMEL: Gentlemen, please welcome six-time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera.

(MUSIC)

[15:25:58]

(APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: Christina Aguilera.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MUSICIAN: Thank you.

KIMMEL: Thank you, Christina, and in Italian as well. Thank you.

AGUILERA: Thank you so much.

(CROSSTALK)

KIMMEL: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

KIMMEL: Kobe, as you know, had big plans after basketball. He had many interests. One of them was film. One of them was the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation. He published books.

But he wanted to make movies (AUDIO GAP) movie. And, of course, because he is Kobe Bryant, the first movie he made won an Oscar.

(LAUGHTER)

KIMMEL: And this is Kobe's Academy Award-winning film called "Dear Basketball."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DEAR BASKETBALL")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A one-point game. Bryant for the win!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BRYANT: Dear basketball, from the moment I started rolling my dad's tube socks, and shooting imaginary game-winning shots in the Great Western Forum, I knew one thing was real. I fell in love with you, a love so deep, I gave you my all, from my mind and body to my spirit and soul.

As a 6-year-old boy deeply in love with you, I never saw the end of the tunnel. I only saw myself running out of one. And so I ran. I ran up and down every court after every loose ball for you. You asked for my hustle, I gave you my heart, because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and the hurt, not because challenge called me, but because you called me. I did everything for you, because that's what you do when someone makes you feel as alive as you've made me feel.

You gave a 6-year-old boy his Laker dream, and I will always love you for it. But I can't love you obsessively for much longer. This season is all I have left to give.

My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye. And that's OK. I'm ready to let you go.

I want you to know now, so we both can savor every moment we have left together, the good and the bad. We have given each other all that we have.