July 23, 2020 • 35 mins
Walter dives deep on what Kobe meant to him in his life and how the icon’s death spurred a collective mourning throughout the city.
This LAist Studios podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and our listeners get 10% off their first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/LAist
California Love is a limited series with 8 episodes. Show support by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
the other Ford for the final time. Number 24 4
time world champion will be.
There's 40 million people in Southern California that remember how
Kobe made him feel?
(00:23):
Kobe made people feel as confident as he was. He
made people feel like, Don't worry, I got this.
We're gonna be OK,
because I remember was a Sunday morning and looking into
the sky and going like this is very unusual fog.
It was devastating. And I felt the vibe even when
(00:45):
I came back. How how the whole city got really
like they missed a member of the family.
I don't know, like I was just I was paralyzed
Speaker 2 (00:55):
for a good six
Speaker 1 (00:56):
hours. After I couldn't move, I couldn't respond to anything.
It's late at night
and there's a cop standing in my room.
(01:19):
He looks nervous
and uneasy about the whole situation.
You're the young guy,
maybe in his early twenties,
and to me
looks like someone who never planned on being a cop
like a high school athlete
who figured joining the force were given the same rushed
(01:41):
a football listed.
I doubt he picture getting called to sell domestic violence cases.
Maybe he imagined getting called to like bang shoot outs
or high speed chases on the 10 Freeway.
Instead,
(02:01):
he's right here
in my bedroom,
making small talk with an 11 year old kid
who just got into another fight with his mom's boyfriend.
What do you think of Kobe?
The cop said while grabbing the sports section of the
paper on my desk.
Koby faces on it.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
He's too young to be in the N B. A. Right?
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I don't know.
I think he's gonna be OK.
Thistles. California Love on Water, Kobe
(03:03):
Channel nine Regularly scheduled programming will not be seen in
order that we may present the following sports special.
It always seemed like Lakers with the NBA's best team
and always had the league's best players
way. Have magic. Then, finally,
(03:28):
66 way had Kareem
Goto will
well,
Jerry West
Van Exel
and we had Nick Van Exel, too.
It felt like having a winning team with a big
part of our cities. Magic,
(03:55):
almost like each player in each era,
gave us something different to be proud about,
something to look forward to every night. Everyone wanted the
game on. My grandmother would always turn into the specialist,
the expert on why the Lakers won playing right, and
it would always be a running joke that, you know,
if she was coaching instead of Phil Jackson, that she
would figure it out. And it's
(04:17):
it could have been a break from a busy work
week or something to talk about. What co workers.
We all had the Lakers,
and it felt like we were a part of them.
He's got above the three point line, taking a little
bit of time one dribble
(04:49):
and Kobe Bryant making his first appearance in Madison Square
Garden 18 years of age.
The week the cops showed about our home is the
same week I first heard about Kobe,
the same summarized to record California love when it came
on the radio.
Most people in L. A were saying the same thing
the cops said that night.
(05:10):
Kobe Bryant last night to get first start as a
pro out of feel
good, I felt good going out
starting lineup. I tried to
keep a straight face and keep a serious look, but
I can't help cracking a little smart.
I remember a lot of discussion with relatives of like
Speaker 2 (05:29):
was it the right move. He should have went to college.
City of not once a
Speaker 1 (05:32):
college. Kobe's too young, Too inexperienced, too cocky.
Speaking of high school, how big was the gym you
played in America? How many people? Uh, about 500 people. 500.
This seats 26,000. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Is this Cubbies that maybe he was all those things?
(05:53):
Maybe that's why I like him so much.
Well, the difference is you have to make a contribution
early on. You know, you have to go in there
and
produce right away on get the ball into the big fella. Daddy,
some looks.
I don't know what it meant yet
that he would actually be a part of our lives
for the next 20 years,
(06:13):
and he would change us
forever.
The same summer Cubby was drafted was the same some
of the Lakers traded for shack
with the
Lakers.
What about check
(06:33):
every day, whether it's in practice and he's blocking one
of my shots. So I'm getting a layup born with
something like that. Now we're talking. We're giving advice to
one another, pumping each other up same time like my
older brother
as an 11 year old,
it was all music to my ears.
Fastball with everything,
eh? My entire room filled with posters. I had Michael Jordan,
(06:56):
Eddie Jones,
and they use L A basketball national championship. Hosted.
I played in the park every day, all day,
sun up to sundown and we take some money with
me that I would hide in my socks to buy
hot dog and soda for lunch.
And if you were a real one, like I was
William T shirt got dirty. You flipped it around,
(07:16):
you kept on playing.
But in hindsight,
that was kind of nasty.
But anyways,
Speaker 2 (07:32):
for me, waas like a golden door because I knew
you had the ability to play. And you were very
eclectic since you were little. So, to me, that was
the golden key to make it in life.
I mean,
(07:53):
I remember that so clearly so that every time I
go by that, that high school I, Joe your o
por que
It was very emotional.
It was your first JV game in your plane that
your first half and you were playing a mazy Now Oh,
my God. You were doing the go via style. I
(08:15):
don't remember what it's called me.
Figaro's Yes, on Everybody was clapping. I was so happy.
And then after the have you you sat down on
the floor.
All I knew was that you were sitting down and
to me was a very sad moment because
(08:39):
that was my opportunity to see you
become a ah, a good student
and a basketball player.
And
after the game,
I went up to you and I said Me, Ho,
what did you do?
(08:59):
Why
didn't you play?
And then you gave me a big hug and I said, Well,
what's going on? And you said, Mom, I made varsity.
So Coach took me out of the game because I
made varsity. I'm in the varsity team now. Oh, my God.
First I was crying because I was set. Now I'm
(09:21):
crying because I was.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
My mom was able to send me to you sell
a basketball.
It's where I met college stars and people who I
looked up to
U C L. A. Players who had just won a
national championship. That year,
I learned how to become a better basketball player.
We played in games and their drills all day long.
(09:51):
1000 dorms. I'm own room, and it felt like a resort.
It was like, almost like a teenage sandals. You know,
it was so much fun. We had pizza for every meal. No,
but I'm not joking us literally. What?
Thompson is a very, very good three point shooter off
on the way.
(10:12):
All that training came in handy years later when I
played a visual in basketball and then professionally
will be with only six years older than me.
Close enough to feel similar, but old enough to look
up to.
(10:32):
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah.
He was smooth, handsome,
and had confidence unlike any other 17 year old I knew.
And
he had just taken brandy to prom that year,
which was the most baller thing you could do. Especially
(10:55):
when you're a high school kid. So you knew right
off the bat that he had a ton of confidence.
A ton of flair,
Moto the
A to the no. To the beat of the motion.
Yep. Brandy.
(11:19):
Hey, was a star in my eyes from the first
moment he arrived in l. A. And he felt like
an older brother.
He was fearless
and That's something all about like you relate to.
And it didn't matter where you lived the Westside, downtown,
South Central or the side.
It was all the same.
(11:44):
Even though Kobe had his Doubters after only a few years,
he proved them wrong.
I
mean,
I'm not saying he was a player.
Second four.
I know, I know. I know.
He did air ball a few times during the make
of Jazz playoff series. I mean, I was kind of like,
(12:06):
you know, like, really, you're just gonna cheap air balling
like this crazy. But if that moment doesn't happen, I
don't know if Kobe becomes from Kobe is.
And it still didn't faze him, and it didn't wreck
his confidence, at least not outwardly. Not one bit.
Oh, in that one time
when he got a cold two piece by New York
Knicks guard Chris Childs.
(12:30):
Child twice.
That was crazy.
But it also didn't stop him
when they played the Sacramento Kings. That was heat and
the way he used to fight with Doug Christie. Kobe
sitting there just bobbing and staring at Doug Christie face
to face. He goes to make Kobe flinch, and Kobe
(12:52):
does not flinch. He does not bat an eye. It's
the most singular moment that tells you everything you need
to know about Kobe Bryant in the face of somebody
gonna pop him in the face.
He's not even moved.
(13:16):
During my sophomore year in high school, racial tensions between
students really exploded.
They were all over L A county.
The root of the violence was unclear,
but one thing Waas
like a brown students were getting swept up in.
(13:36):
People were fighting on their way to school, at school
and after school.
Me and my friends wanted to stay clear of it all,
so we stayed in the gym and played basketball.
I carried my basketball wherever I went as a form
of communication.
(13:59):
I carried it on the bus,
dribbled it down the street
and had it by my side. All day long.
It felt like it became a part of my body
because I knew if people saw him with that, they'd
be like, Oh,
he just plays basketball. He's cool
And it worked.
(14:19):
People were fighting outside the gym, but inside black and
brown teens were trying to be just like Kobe
way all worth Jersey.
Kobe was easy to love.
He takes to the finals
and we won again
(14:42):
and again. Dad Stuff puts up a three
and again four years Kobe way.
(15:05):
I think the Lakers were so important because they
Speaker 2 (15:08):
gave us
Speaker 1 (15:09):
just on opportunity to celebrate victory that everyone could be
a part of, You know, when it comes to sports. Yeah,
there's no divide they're coming from, you know, an immigrant
Arab Americans family, my uncles and my dad Like that's
how they learn English watching the n behave.
By the time I was in 7th and 8th grade,
(15:30):
it was just like everyday Kobe Bryant Laker T shirt.
He was plastered all over my walls. I would save
every single newspaper clipping that came out and people didn't
know me by my real name. My friends called me
Kobe year. Mrs. Bryant,
we yelled
Speaker 2 (15:45):
cov
Kobe! Kobe!
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Whenever we shot paper into trash cans during class.
Man,
I got in trouble for that. So many times
we yelled it on the courts in Venice and Al
in East L. A.
You don't need to love basketball to love Kobe.
What's the game?
Kobe Oven Estimate in 1999 when he was 20 when
(16:13):
she was 17.
He was trying to be a rapper and met her
on the set of a music video. You do remember
who recorded a song, right?
For some reason,
I was really involved in the relationship gossip.
(16:34):
It's hard to pinpoint
what exactly makes
a person the one for you, but you just know
love is a funny thing. I can't explain it and
I don't understand it.
But all I know is you caught my heart and
I just need actually was the one.
I wanted the relationship to work.
(16:54):
Maybe it was because it was something I wish my
parents
Vanessa, also felt really relatable to me.
She reminded me of one of my cousins
and was only a couple years older than me.
(17:17):
But when they married and the city's biggest hero had
these black Mexican daughters, I felt an immediate emotional attachment
to them. Do you think your daughter might want to
play in the WNBA? She does, For sure she does.
I don't mean this kid. Wouldn't that be great, man
Thier Best thing. The best thing that happens when you
go out and fans come up to me and she'll
(17:38):
be standing next to me would be like and you
gotta have a boy. U and V gotta have a
boy may have somebody carry on the tradition legacy. She's like, Oh,
I got this
Saw parts of myself in their daughters
in Jonah in a Dahlia
in the identity questions I knew they had because
(18:00):
I had them, too.
Those girls and I probably had different lives, but seeing
more Children like them was really beautiful to me.
Kobe Minister's family didn't solve the city's racial problems, but
it shared the same to our spirits.
At times,
Kobe flew higher than any human I thought could.
And then there were also moments
(18:22):
like at a resort hotel in Eagle, Colorado, that he
felt human flawed
and, to some,
even a villain.
Sit here for you guys
furious at myself.
Discuss it at myself.
We're making a mistake
of
adultery
like No, not not the not the person that I've
(18:45):
fell so passionately defends my values. I have learned that
the people that I look up Teoh
Speaker 2 (18:51):
so many of them have found ways or have done
things that disappoint me in the end. So here I am,
tempering the way that I look up to somebody I
want to stay
Speaker 1 (19:00):
back. Then I had this generalization that the culture of
the N B. A was a womanising culture.
And so I Ono's
wasn't surprised. Later, when you start to understand the
Speaker 2 (19:12):
details and you're like, you
Speaker 1 (19:13):
understand how heavy this is courses, it's disappointing.
As a high school senior,
it was hard to reconcile the image of Kobe
and the reality that he had been charged with sexual assault.
Part of me really wanted to ignore the allegations,
while a different part of me wanted to understand what
would lead coupled to commit adultery and forced himself on
(19:35):
a 19 year old woman.
He even admitted to understanding that for her
it was not consensual.
It was in stark contrast to the wholesome image that
so many of us believed in
that I believed in
when he lived and people don't talk about this. He
was very polarized, a za ballplayer. He could be marked
(19:58):
a selfish as a companion and marriage. He could be
marked as a cheater
and the court of law. If you know some people
don't forgive people, he could be looked at as a
rapist
sports heroes are sometimes a form of escape.
It can allow us to enter a world removed from
our day to day.
(20:18):
It's like they're a vessel to help us travel back
to a time. Went all the dreams we had, its
Children still seem viable
and, like they had a chance to come in. True
Kobe was that for a lot of people,
the news that he had been charged with sexual assault
forced people to question their beliefs and even question their
own dreams.
(20:41):
He had a long way to fall,
and when he fell,
it felt like we all fell to.
I'm so sorry
to put you through this. Put our family through this
taps in the senior from California
(21:05):
when I was a student athlete at the University of Portland.
I'll come back to L. A. Every summer.
I came back home to be with friends and family
and to train for the upcoming season.
I played in summer pickup games at U. C. L. A.
And it felt special to be there. People like Baron Davis,
Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce and other well known MBA players.
(21:27):
The gym was filled with agents and fans and students
who watched as we played inside of a three court
hard with Jim.
I sometimes play in a few games a day with
all these people I admired,
but who didn't know who I waas and would mostly
refer to me not by my name
but by the color of my shirt.
There's to be like a blue, a red,
(21:49):
a grey.
It took months,
but the first time one of those MBA players call
me by name
Man.
It felt great,
but something even more unbelievable happen next.
Oh shit, that's Kobe.
(22:15):
Kobe walked in windows.
Sneakers stop there! Squeaks. Basketballs were caught and held that
golf laughter
Stop that in the air. The silence made you more
aware of the smell to place
sports cream, Old spice, deodorant, sweat way. We're all looking
at Kobe.
He was wearing black sunglasses, a track suit, Jordan threes.
(22:39):
Literally in my mind. I'm watching him walk and I'm
like
with the golden aura
shit that spoke.
It
was wild.
He might have been floating.
I don't know.
He probably Waas.
(23:00):
The guy was definitely floating.
He walked up to our group and greeted the people
he knew like Coach hazard, my high school basketball coach,
who at that point in his life was a Laker scout.
I hope they would shake my hand, too.
But instead,
it just gave me a quick head. Not
half hour later,
(23:22):
first game was underway.
I was playing against Kobe.
I wasn't even mad that I wasn't on Kobe's team.
I was just happy to be there.
So I'm on the court
and I'm trying to do my job.
(23:43):
I'm trying to guard my guy
and I'm failing because
I'm just watching Kobe the hotel,
and he is so in control of his body. It's crazy.
It felt like watching the most highly trained Broadway dancer
(24:05):
fell poetic.
About 10 minutes later,
Kobe accidentally starts to guard me.
Next thing I know, I'm under the basket.
This is me and Kobe,
and he's grabbing on my T shirt.
(24:28):
So I faked. Going left. I spin away, releasing his
grip
and use the screen set by one of my teammates
to get open.
I spread to get the ball.
He's right behind me.
(24:49):
He's on my tail.
The ball lands in my hands,
a square, my feet
and I said, my eyes in the room
and release the ball high in the air as Kobe struggle,
sticking over the screen.
(25:15):
Swift
buckets.
So we actually ended up losing the game.
What's going on, Kobe with a big win for me.
An hour later,
(25:36):
we all called it quits and began cooling down.
Hundreds of you sell a students. I heard that Kobe
was on campus.
In a matter of minutes.
The entire gym was swarming with students.
A group of campus police approached Kobe
inform the human barricade around him while he put his
tracksuit back on.
Kobe looks a coach hazard and he goes a shed.
(25:59):
Can you walk into my car and coach Isar goes, Yeah,
let's do it!
Seconds later, I joined them.
I found myself on Kobe's left side as we made
our way through campus on a bright summer day,
and I'm looking to cover the whole time.
Earlier
on the basketball court, off strong play, cool
(26:20):
walking next to him,
I lost my shit
of that 10 year old kid again,
bright eyed, excited hype to be walking next to Kobe
Bryant
and in what universe.
So I get to score of basket on Kobe
and walk next to him in the same day.
This is the craziest moment of my life,
(26:41):
and I'm looking at Kobe walking.
His eyes are staring at the whole campus.
He's like, so observant of everything that's going on around him,
but he doesn't see me.
Or maybe he does, but
he plays it cool and doesn't show it.
But then he looks at me
and like my whole life, just stopped
(27:03):
and he opens his mouth
and he says,
Man,
college would have been fun and all,
but I know about that fucking school work.
And then, like a minute later,
Kobe gets in his car
and drives off,
(27:26):
but I'm still shook.
Kobe looked at me and spoke to me.
And it's a moment that I'll never forget ever.
(28:10):
I got dozens of texts with the same three words.
Is it true? Is it true those three words with
no other other context at all? Um, nothing else. And
it was almost a Ziff.
The text were coming from the same person. Everyone in
Los Angeles became the same person for a second, and
they were hoping that they would get a no back.
(28:32):
But unfortunately, every answer to that question is a true
turned out to be a yes
Speaker 2 (28:39):
good afternoon from New York were coming on the air
with breaking news. Very sad news to tell the
Speaker 1 (28:44):
sports world. The L. A Times is reporting that on
January 26 Kobe and his daughter and seven other people
were in a helicopter
they were flying above. Calabasas is on their way to
house his basketball camp,
the helicopter crashing around 10 a.m.
Because at that point I kind of knew that it
(29:04):
was true. I got a message from one of my
classmates in seventh grade. I have no idea how this
dude got my number, but he was like You were
the first person I thought of.
I don't know, like I was just I was paralyzed
Speaker 2 (29:19):
for a good six
Speaker 1 (29:20):
hours. After
I couldn't move, I couldn't respond to anything. A body
like not win number, light lost feeling. I started shaking.
I never thought like
I couldn't believe that on my heart would like a
shattered all like there's no way.
What's crazy is that you know that text read that
it's me, you, Jordan and Mint
(29:41):
like. That's how I found out like
Yeah, like men texted that thread like some like TMZ,
you know, story. And like That's how I found out, man,
I could not believe it.
I cried for almost three hours in my room
alone
and thought about Kobe.
(30:03):
And then I went outside.
Within hours of the news breaking,
I saw so many people were in Kobe jerseys
Number eight,
Number 24.
It felt like the whole city. I went, uh,
people who looked like they had never played a day
of ASAP on their lives,
(30:24):
But they all had on his jersey,
I drove by a woman who cried as she bought
roses from a man on Slosson.
I think she was crying for Kobe
on a different three. Coyner.
I saw the same guy who sell rest in peace
Nipsey Hustle shirts
now selling rest in peace. Kobe ones.
(30:44):
When FC was killed,
I felt like South Central mourned.
But when Kobe died,
I felt larger.
I felt like the whole city felt it
and the world
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I lost it.
I was crying. I couldn't believe it.
You were the one who gave me the news.
I knew your said,
and I knew inside of me that I lost. Like
like a family member. It's just like you've lost your
role model,
somebody important in my son's life,
(31:21):
someone who
help me change my son.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Honestly, sometimes I feel like the only time we come
together now layer during extremes.
It's like we're really great is celebrating and we're really great.
A grieving, but nothing in between.
We come together in grief after disasters, fires, earthquakes and pandemics.
We were shaken.
We reach out to help each other.
(31:50):
Kobe wasn't a fire or an earthquake,
but it's definitely changed.
Some rumors say that Kobe held onto G as a
helicopter crashed,
and maybe there's something beautiful to take from that.
Maybe that's the one thing we can do. Moving forward
(32:11):
is hold each other.
You know, when I was at the memorial service, particularly
just days after he died in the areas outside the
Staples Center, when they were putting flowers out for him,
I
Speaker 2 (32:24):
mean, you just
Speaker 1 (32:25):
saw a beautiful picture of L. A. You have the Latinos,
you have the Armenians, you have the Russians,
Speaker 2 (32:31):
little Eastern, African, American, Caucasian. You
Speaker 1 (32:34):
saw every color Asian Americans and not just brought me
so much joy because that was Kobe.
Kobe's legacy is restoring the unity that l. A was
always intended to have.
When Kobe was good,
(32:55):
he was great.
When l A is good, it's also great.
Kobe,
this is a thank you
a really big thank you.
Thank you. From that kid on his bed in his
room talking to a cop who didn't know what you
(33:15):
would mean to me.
Thank you for giving me something to root for. Thank
you for playing
and making me want to play
for keeping me on the court and out of trouble.
You really saved my life.
And my mom
wants to say thank you to thank you, Kobe. Thank you,
(33:40):
Kobe.
(34:11):
Special thanks to
Iliana Jihad Zack Will rich
Lorena Yoob Dr Lori for Idris
David Tripler Eugene O Nicholas Rowe's Lisa Kwan
Jack Thomas My mama
a Martinez.
And so here also, uh,
(34:33):
all these people helped us remember Kobe
and remind us of who we are and who he waas.
The lead producer for this episode is Tameka Adams
supporting producers. Meghan Tan.
Our editor is Arlen Knicks
and our producer is Elizabeth Chicano.
Valentino Rivera is our engineer.
(34:56):
Original music by Andrew Ethan this'll Episode Ruined by me,
Walter Thompson Hernandez
With help from Tameka Adams and our winnicks
Angela Brahms Dad is the executive producer.
California love is a production of Aaliyah's studios.
Thank you for listening. E really appreciate you.
the other Ford for the final time. Number 24 4
time world champion will be.
There's 40 million people in Southern California that remember how
Kobe made him feel?
(00:23):
Kobe made people feel as confident as he was. He
made people feel like, Don't worry, I got this.
We're gonna be OK,
because I remember was a Sunday morning and looking into
the sky and going like this is very unusual fog.
It was devastating. And I felt the vibe even when
(00:45):
I came back. How how the whole city got really
like they missed a member of the family.
I don't know, like I was just I was paralyzed
Speaker 2 (00:55):
for a good six
Speaker 1 (00:56):
hours. After I couldn't move, I couldn't respond to anything.
It's late at night
and there's a cop standing in my room.
(01:19):
He looks nervous
and uneasy about the whole situation.
You're the young guy,
maybe in his early twenties,
and to me
looks like someone who never planned on being a cop
like a high school athlete
who figured joining the force were given the same rushed
(01:41):
a football listed.
I doubt he picture getting called to sell domestic violence cases.
Maybe he imagined getting called to like bang shoot outs
or high speed chases on the 10 Freeway.
Instead,
(02:01):
he's right here
in my bedroom,
making small talk with an 11 year old kid
who just got into another fight with his mom's boyfriend.
What do you think of Kobe?
The cop said while grabbing the sports section of the
paper on my desk.
Koby faces on it.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
He's too young to be in the N B. A. Right?
Speaker 1 (02:25):
I don't know.
I think he's gonna be OK.
Thistles. California Love on Water, Kobe
(03:03):
Channel nine Regularly scheduled programming will not be seen in
order that we may present the following sports special.
It always seemed like Lakers with the NBA's best team
and always had the league's best players
way. Have magic. Then, finally,
(03:28):
66 way had Kareem
Goto will
well,
Jerry West
Van Exel
and we had Nick Van Exel, too.
It felt like having a winning team with a big
part of our cities. Magic,
(03:55):
almost like each player in each era,
gave us something different to be proud about,
something to look forward to every night. Everyone wanted the
game on. My grandmother would always turn into the specialist,
the expert on why the Lakers won playing right, and
it would always be a running joke that, you know,
if she was coaching instead of Phil Jackson, that she
would figure it out. And it's
(04:17):
it could have been a break from a busy work
week or something to talk about. What co workers.
We all had the Lakers,
and it felt like we were a part of them.
He's got above the three point line, taking a little
bit of time one dribble
(04:49):
and Kobe Bryant making his first appearance in Madison Square
Garden 18 years of age.
The week the cops showed about our home is the
same week I first heard about Kobe,
the same summarized to record California love when it came
on the radio.
Most people in L. A were saying the same thing
the cops said that night.
(05:10):
Kobe Bryant last night to get first start as a
pro out of feel
good, I felt good going out
starting lineup. I tried to
keep a straight face and keep a serious look, but
I can't help cracking a little smart.
I remember a lot of discussion with relatives of like
Speaker 2 (05:29):
was it the right move. He should have went to college.
City of not once a
Speaker 1 (05:32):
college. Kobe's too young, Too inexperienced, too cocky.
Speaking of high school, how big was the gym you
played in America? How many people? Uh, about 500 people. 500.
This seats 26,000. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
Is this Cubbies that maybe he was all those things?
(05:53):
Maybe that's why I like him so much.
Well, the difference is you have to make a contribution
early on. You know, you have to go in there
and
produce right away on get the ball into the big fella. Daddy,
some looks.
I don't know what it meant yet
that he would actually be a part of our lives
for the next 20 years,
(06:13):
and he would change us
forever.
The same summer Cubby was drafted was the same some
of the Lakers traded for shack
with the
Lakers.
What about check
(06:33):
every day, whether it's in practice and he's blocking one
of my shots. So I'm getting a layup born with
something like that. Now we're talking. We're giving advice to
one another, pumping each other up same time like my
older brother
as an 11 year old,
it was all music to my ears.
Fastball with everything,
eh? My entire room filled with posters. I had Michael Jordan,
(06:56):
Eddie Jones,
and they use L A basketball national championship. Hosted.
I played in the park every day, all day,
sun up to sundown and we take some money with
me that I would hide in my socks to buy
hot dog and soda for lunch.
And if you were a real one, like I was
William T shirt got dirty. You flipped it around,
(07:16):
you kept on playing.
But in hindsight,
that was kind of nasty.
But anyways,
Speaker 2 (07:32):
for me, waas like a golden door because I knew
you had the ability to play. And you were very
eclectic since you were little. So, to me, that was
the golden key to make it in life.
I mean,
(07:53):
I remember that so clearly so that every time I
go by that, that high school I, Joe your o
por que
It was very emotional.
It was your first JV game in your plane that
your first half and you were playing a mazy Now Oh,
my God. You were doing the go via style. I
(08:15):
don't remember what it's called me.
Figaro's Yes, on Everybody was clapping. I was so happy.
And then after the have you you sat down on
the floor.
All I knew was that you were sitting down and
to me was a very sad moment because
(08:39):
that was my opportunity to see you
become a ah, a good student
and a basketball player.
And
after the game,
I went up to you and I said Me, Ho,
what did you do?
(08:59):
Why
didn't you play?
And then you gave me a big hug and I said, Well,
what's going on? And you said, Mom, I made varsity.
So Coach took me out of the game because I
made varsity. I'm in the varsity team now. Oh, my God.
First I was crying because I was set. Now I'm
(09:21):
crying because I was.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
My mom was able to send me to you sell
a basketball.
It's where I met college stars and people who I
looked up to
U C L. A. Players who had just won a
national championship. That year,
I learned how to become a better basketball player.
We played in games and their drills all day long.
(09:51):
1000 dorms. I'm own room, and it felt like a resort.
It was like, almost like a teenage sandals. You know,
it was so much fun. We had pizza for every meal. No,
but I'm not joking us literally. What?
Thompson is a very, very good three point shooter off
on the way.
(10:12):
All that training came in handy years later when I
played a visual in basketball and then professionally
will be with only six years older than me.
Close enough to feel similar, but old enough to look
up to.
(10:32):
Oh, my goodness.
Yeah.
He was smooth, handsome,
and had confidence unlike any other 17 year old I knew.
And
he had just taken brandy to prom that year,
which was the most baller thing you could do. Especially
(10:55):
when you're a high school kid. So you knew right
off the bat that he had a ton of confidence.
A ton of flair,
Moto the
A to the no. To the beat of the motion.
Yep. Brandy.
(11:19):
Hey, was a star in my eyes from the first
moment he arrived in l. A. And he felt like
an older brother.
He was fearless
and That's something all about like you relate to.
And it didn't matter where you lived the Westside, downtown,
South Central or the side.
It was all the same.
(11:44):
Even though Kobe had his Doubters after only a few years,
he proved them wrong.
I
mean,
I'm not saying he was a player.
Second four.
I know, I know. I know.
He did air ball a few times during the make
of Jazz playoff series. I mean, I was kind of like,
(12:06):
you know, like, really, you're just gonna cheap air balling
like this crazy. But if that moment doesn't happen, I
don't know if Kobe becomes from Kobe is.
And it still didn't faze him, and it didn't wreck
his confidence, at least not outwardly. Not one bit.
Oh, in that one time
when he got a cold two piece by New York
Knicks guard Chris Childs.
(12:30):
Child twice.
That was crazy.
But it also didn't stop him
when they played the Sacramento Kings. That was heat and
the way he used to fight with Doug Christie. Kobe
sitting there just bobbing and staring at Doug Christie face
to face. He goes to make Kobe flinch, and Kobe
(12:52):
does not flinch. He does not bat an eye. It's
the most singular moment that tells you everything you need
to know about Kobe Bryant in the face of somebody
gonna pop him in the face.
He's not even moved.
(13:16):
During my sophomore year in high school, racial tensions between
students really exploded.
They were all over L A county.
The root of the violence was unclear,
but one thing Waas
like a brown students were getting swept up in.
(13:36):
People were fighting on their way to school, at school
and after school.
Me and my friends wanted to stay clear of it all,
so we stayed in the gym and played basketball.
I carried my basketball wherever I went as a form
of communication.
(13:59):
I carried it on the bus,
dribbled it down the street
and had it by my side. All day long.
It felt like it became a part of my body
because I knew if people saw him with that, they'd
be like, Oh,
he just plays basketball. He's cool
And it worked.
(14:19):
People were fighting outside the gym, but inside black and
brown teens were trying to be just like Kobe
way all worth Jersey.
Kobe was easy to love.
He takes to the finals
and we won again
(14:42):
and again. Dad Stuff puts up a three
and again four years Kobe way.
(15:05):
I think the Lakers were so important because they
Speaker 2 (15:08):
gave us
Speaker 1 (15:09):
just on opportunity to celebrate victory that everyone could be
a part of, You know, when it comes to sports. Yeah,
there's no divide they're coming from, you know, an immigrant
Arab Americans family, my uncles and my dad Like that's
how they learn English watching the n behave.
By the time I was in 7th and 8th grade,
(15:30):
it was just like everyday Kobe Bryant Laker T shirt.
He was plastered all over my walls. I would save
every single newspaper clipping that came out and people didn't
know me by my real name. My friends called me
Kobe year. Mrs. Bryant,
we yelled
Speaker 2 (15:45):
cov
Kobe! Kobe!
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Whenever we shot paper into trash cans during class.
Man,
I got in trouble for that. So many times
we yelled it on the courts in Venice and Al
in East L. A.
You don't need to love basketball to love Kobe.
What's the game?
Kobe Oven Estimate in 1999 when he was 20 when
(16:13):
she was 17.
He was trying to be a rapper and met her
on the set of a music video. You do remember
who recorded a song, right?
For some reason,
I was really involved in the relationship gossip.
(16:34):
It's hard to pinpoint
what exactly makes
a person the one for you, but you just know
love is a funny thing. I can't explain it and
I don't understand it.
But all I know is you caught my heart and
I just need actually was the one.
I wanted the relationship to work.
(16:54):
Maybe it was because it was something I wish my
parents
Vanessa, also felt really relatable to me.
She reminded me of one of my cousins
and was only a couple years older than me.
(17:17):
But when they married and the city's biggest hero had
these black Mexican daughters, I felt an immediate emotional attachment
to them. Do you think your daughter might want to
play in the WNBA? She does, For sure she does.
I don't mean this kid. Wouldn't that be great, man
Thier Best thing. The best thing that happens when you
go out and fans come up to me and she'll
(17:38):
be standing next to me would be like and you
gotta have a boy. U and V gotta have a
boy may have somebody carry on the tradition legacy. She's like, Oh,
I got this
Saw parts of myself in their daughters
in Jonah in a Dahlia
in the identity questions I knew they had because
(18:00):
I had them, too.
Those girls and I probably had different lives, but seeing
more Children like them was really beautiful to me.
Kobe Minister's family didn't solve the city's racial problems, but
it shared the same to our spirits.
At times,
Kobe flew higher than any human I thought could.
And then there were also moments
(18:22):
like at a resort hotel in Eagle, Colorado, that he
felt human flawed
and, to some,
even a villain.
Sit here for you guys
furious at myself.
Discuss it at myself.
We're making a mistake
of
adultery
like No, not not the not the person that I've
(18:45):
fell so passionately defends my values. I have learned that
the people that I look up Teoh
Speaker 2 (18:51):
so many of them have found ways or have done
things that disappoint me in the end. So here I am,
tempering the way that I look up to somebody I
want to stay
Speaker 1 (19:00):
back. Then I had this generalization that the culture of
the N B. A was a womanising culture.
And so I Ono's
wasn't surprised. Later, when you start to understand the
Speaker 2 (19:12):
details and you're like, you
Speaker 1 (19:13):
understand how heavy this is courses, it's disappointing.
As a high school senior,
it was hard to reconcile the image of Kobe
and the reality that he had been charged with sexual assault.
Part of me really wanted to ignore the allegations,
while a different part of me wanted to understand what
would lead coupled to commit adultery and forced himself on
(19:35):
a 19 year old woman.
He even admitted to understanding that for her
it was not consensual.
It was in stark contrast to the wholesome image that
so many of us believed in
that I believed in
when he lived and people don't talk about this. He
was very polarized, a za ballplayer. He could be marked
(19:58):
a selfish as a companion and marriage. He could be
marked as a cheater
and the court of law. If you know some people
don't forgive people, he could be looked at as a
rapist
sports heroes are sometimes a form of escape.
It can allow us to enter a world removed from
our day to day.
(20:18):
It's like they're a vessel to help us travel back
to a time. Went all the dreams we had, its
Children still seem viable
and, like they had a chance to come in. True
Kobe was that for a lot of people,
the news that he had been charged with sexual assault
forced people to question their beliefs and even question their
own dreams.
(20:41):
He had a long way to fall,
and when he fell,
it felt like we all fell to.
I'm so sorry
to put you through this. Put our family through this
taps in the senior from California
(21:05):
when I was a student athlete at the University of Portland.
I'll come back to L. A. Every summer.
I came back home to be with friends and family
and to train for the upcoming season.
I played in summer pickup games at U. C. L. A.
And it felt special to be there. People like Baron Davis,
Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce and other well known MBA players.
(21:27):
The gym was filled with agents and fans and students
who watched as we played inside of a three court
hard with Jim.
I sometimes play in a few games a day with
all these people I admired,
but who didn't know who I waas and would mostly
refer to me not by my name
but by the color of my shirt.
There's to be like a blue, a red,
(21:49):
a grey.
It took months,
but the first time one of those MBA players call
me by name
Man.
It felt great,
but something even more unbelievable happen next.
Oh shit, that's Kobe.
(22:15):
Kobe walked in windows.
Sneakers stop there! Squeaks. Basketballs were caught and held that
golf laughter
Stop that in the air. The silence made you more
aware of the smell to place
sports cream, Old spice, deodorant, sweat way. We're all looking
at Kobe.
He was wearing black sunglasses, a track suit, Jordan threes.
(22:39):
Literally in my mind. I'm watching him walk and I'm
like
with the golden aura
shit that spoke.
It
was wild.
He might have been floating.
I don't know.
He probably Waas.
(23:00):
The guy was definitely floating.
He walked up to our group and greeted the people
he knew like Coach hazard, my high school basketball coach,
who at that point in his life was a Laker scout.
I hope they would shake my hand, too.
But instead,
it just gave me a quick head. Not
half hour later,
(23:22):
first game was underway.
I was playing against Kobe.
I wasn't even mad that I wasn't on Kobe's team.
I was just happy to be there.
So I'm on the court
and I'm trying to do my job.
(23:43):
I'm trying to guard my guy
and I'm failing because
I'm just watching Kobe the hotel,
and he is so in control of his body. It's crazy.
It felt like watching the most highly trained Broadway dancer
(24:05):
fell poetic.
About 10 minutes later,
Kobe accidentally starts to guard me.
Next thing I know, I'm under the basket.
This is me and Kobe,
and he's grabbing on my T shirt.
(24:28):
So I faked. Going left. I spin away, releasing his
grip
and use the screen set by one of my teammates
to get open.
I spread to get the ball.
He's right behind me.
(24:49):
He's on my tail.
The ball lands in my hands,
a square, my feet
and I said, my eyes in the room
and release the ball high in the air as Kobe struggle,
sticking over the screen.
(25:15):
Swift
buckets.
So we actually ended up losing the game.
What's going on, Kobe with a big win for me.
An hour later,
(25:36):
we all called it quits and began cooling down.
Hundreds of you sell a students. I heard that Kobe
was on campus.
In a matter of minutes.
The entire gym was swarming with students.
A group of campus police approached Kobe
inform the human barricade around him while he put his
tracksuit back on.
Kobe looks a coach hazard and he goes a shed.
(25:59):
Can you walk into my car and coach Isar goes, Yeah,
let's do it!
Seconds later, I joined them.
I found myself on Kobe's left side as we made
our way through campus on a bright summer day,
and I'm looking to cover the whole time.
Earlier
on the basketball court, off strong play, cool
(26:20):
walking next to him,
I lost my shit
of that 10 year old kid again,
bright eyed, excited hype to be walking next to Kobe
Bryant
and in what universe.
So I get to score of basket on Kobe
and walk next to him in the same day.
This is the craziest moment of my life,
(26:41):
and I'm looking at Kobe walking.
His eyes are staring at the whole campus.
He's like, so observant of everything that's going on around him,
but he doesn't see me.
Or maybe he does, but
he plays it cool and doesn't show it.
But then he looks at me
and like my whole life, just stopped
(27:03):
and he opens his mouth
and he says,
Man,
college would have been fun and all,
but I know about that fucking school work.
And then, like a minute later,
Kobe gets in his car
and drives off,
(27:26):
but I'm still shook.
Kobe looked at me and spoke to me.
And it's a moment that I'll never forget ever.
(28:10):
I got dozens of texts with the same three words.
Is it true? Is it true those three words with
no other other context at all? Um, nothing else. And
it was almost a Ziff.
The text were coming from the same person. Everyone in
Los Angeles became the same person for a second, and
they were hoping that they would get a no back.
(28:32):
But unfortunately, every answer to that question is a true
turned out to be a yes
Speaker 2 (28:39):
good afternoon from New York were coming on the air
with breaking news. Very sad news to tell the
Speaker 1 (28:44):
sports world. The L. A Times is reporting that on
January 26 Kobe and his daughter and seven other people
were in a helicopter
they were flying above. Calabasas is on their way to
house his basketball camp,
the helicopter crashing around 10 a.m.
Because at that point I kind of knew that it
(29:04):
was true. I got a message from one of my
classmates in seventh grade. I have no idea how this
dude got my number, but he was like You were
the first person I thought of.
I don't know, like I was just I was paralyzed
Speaker 2 (29:19):
for a good six
Speaker 1 (29:20):
hours. After
I couldn't move, I couldn't respond to anything. A body
like not win number, light lost feeling. I started shaking.
I never thought like
I couldn't believe that on my heart would like a
shattered all like there's no way.
What's crazy is that you know that text read that
it's me, you, Jordan and Mint
(29:41):
like. That's how I found out like
Yeah, like men texted that thread like some like TMZ,
you know, story. And like That's how I found out, man,
I could not believe it.
I cried for almost three hours in my room
alone
and thought about Kobe.
(30:03):
And then I went outside.
Within hours of the news breaking,
I saw so many people were in Kobe jerseys
Number eight,
Number 24.
It felt like the whole city. I went, uh,
people who looked like they had never played a day
of ASAP on their lives,
(30:24):
But they all had on his jersey,
I drove by a woman who cried as she bought
roses from a man on Slosson.
I think she was crying for Kobe
on a different three. Coyner.
I saw the same guy who sell rest in peace
Nipsey Hustle shirts
now selling rest in peace. Kobe ones.
(30:44):
When FC was killed,
I felt like South Central mourned.
But when Kobe died,
I felt larger.
I felt like the whole city felt it
and the world
Speaker 2 (30:58):
I lost it.
I was crying. I couldn't believe it.
You were the one who gave me the news.
I knew your said,
and I knew inside of me that I lost. Like
like a family member. It's just like you've lost your
role model,
somebody important in my son's life,
(31:21):
someone who
help me change my son.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Honestly, sometimes I feel like the only time we come
together now layer during extremes.
It's like we're really great is celebrating and we're really great.
A grieving, but nothing in between.
We come together in grief after disasters, fires, earthquakes and pandemics.
We were shaken.
We reach out to help each other.
(31:50):
Kobe wasn't a fire or an earthquake,
but it's definitely changed.
Some rumors say that Kobe held onto G as a
helicopter crashed,
and maybe there's something beautiful to take from that.
Maybe that's the one thing we can do. Moving forward
(32:11):
is hold each other.
You know, when I was at the memorial service, particularly
just days after he died in the areas outside the
Staples Center, when they were putting flowers out for him,
I
Speaker 2 (32:24):
mean, you just
Speaker 1 (32:25):
saw a beautiful picture of L. A. You have the Latinos,
you have the Armenians, you have the Russians,
Speaker 2 (32:31):
little Eastern, African, American, Caucasian. You
Speaker 1 (32:34):
saw every color Asian Americans and not just brought me
so much joy because that was Kobe.
Kobe's legacy is restoring the unity that l. A was
always intended to have.
When Kobe was good,
(32:55):
he was great.
When l A is good, it's also great.
Kobe,
this is a thank you
a really big thank you.
Thank you. From that kid on his bed in his
room talking to a cop who didn't know what you
(33:15):
would mean to me.
Thank you for giving me something to root for. Thank
you for playing
and making me want to play
for keeping me on the court and out of trouble.
You really saved my life.
And my mom
wants to say thank you to thank you, Kobe. Thank you,
(33:40):
Kobe.
(34:11):
Special thanks to
Iliana Jihad Zack Will rich
Lorena Yoob Dr Lori for Idris
David Tripler Eugene O Nicholas Rowe's Lisa Kwan
Jack Thomas My mama
a Martinez.
And so here also, uh,
(34:33):
all these people helped us remember Kobe
and remind us of who we are and who he waas.
The lead producer for this episode is Tameka Adams
supporting producers. Meghan Tan.
Our editor is Arlen Knicks
and our producer is Elizabeth Chicano.
Valentino Rivera is our engineer.
(34:56):
Original music by Andrew Ethan this'll Episode Ruined by me,
Walter Thompson Hernandez
With help from Tameka Adams and our winnicks
Angela Brahms Dad is the executive producer.
California love is a production of Aaliyah's studios.
Thank you for listening. E really appreciate you.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.