It was Sunday, January 26th of last year, when Bryant and his 13 year old daughter, Gianna, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California The days and weeks that followed were marked with emotional outpourings of grief and appreciation from around the world, as people celebrated the life and legacy of one of the greatest players of all time and one of the great legends as well.

And we thought that to begin our conversation about that today, we would bring in our own Michael Wilbon and Michael, thank you for getting up with us here today, and and it is hard to believe that it has been one year in so many different ways.

As you woke up this morning, what were the first thought you had relative to Kobe?

Well, agree.

I started thinking about it.

You know, last night, as I started reading some pieces about this one year, um, anniversary, I guess we have to use that word.

And, you know, in this country we weren't really locked into what was about to happen co vid until early March and so late January as we were getting ready to cover and get indulge in the Super Bowl.

Um, this tragedy sent us into despair.

And I mean that literally more so here but worldwide.

But yes, particularly in this country.

Um, this plunged us into despair, the death of Kobe and his daughter and all the others.

And, um, we don't think we've come out of it.

I mean, we've been in it.

We've been stuck there, obviously with with with the Pandemic, but also with this just saddening this pounding this thes deaths of Hall of Fame athletes subsequently and maybe none of them were as tragic.

You know, I think just about you know, this past few days with Henry Aaron.

But at least Henry Aaron had a full life.

You know what, eighties, what, 86 years old Kobe Bryant?

Certainly, you know, didn't even have quite half of that.

But I just started thinking about the despair that we have been in, and it has been it started with that tragedy.

To me, that's my timeframe.

And all these things tend to be personal on dso I've thought about that.

I try to think of some happier thoughts.

You know what?

I was really struck, and it resonated with me.

What?

LeBron and Anthony Davis.

We're talking about other Lakers, but particularly them saying they they didn't wanna have just public, um, commemorations all the time.

And obviously this stays with them and they're shaken by it still.

Ah, full year later.

And I thought that, too.

I mean, I know we're going to talk about it.

Um, that's our jobs to talk about it, But we're still in despair.

People are still mourning.

And so I I don't know quite how you handle it, but LeBron and Anthony Davis and their sentiments resonated with me.

Yeah.

No, no question.

A lot of people are still having a difficult time with it, and I agree with you that it did set off a year unlike any that we've ever experienced before.

But one of the things we can do a year later is try and smile in remembering him.

What is the story about Kobe Bryant that you think of that?

Always makes you smile?

There are few.

Um, but but one of them and I talked about it a lot last year.

in real time.

Um, is that, you know, people saw Michael Jordan and in tears and just so emotionally overwrought, and he and speaking at one of the memorials for Kobe Bryant and Michael really does that sort of thing publicly, and people just didn't understand the kind of relationship they had.

I got a glimpse.

Could be some of that played out here in Washington when Michael was with the Wizards is both an executive and the player.

And when I went to a Lakers game, um, Kobe, knowing that I had a relationship for a long time with Michael if he had a big game, you know, 40 45 points, a triple double.

Who knows when the media is lined up outside the locker room, Kobe would often just drift over if he saw me and I get an elbow in the ribs and he leaned over when nobody else could here and just say, How would the old man have done tonight?

How would you boys have done tonight with the old man had been ableto beat them tonight would have been able to beat whoever fill in the blank, and it was just so and And it was I asked him.

I said, Look, and I talk about this on the air now or write about it and he said, You know, people aren't gonna understand.

They're gonna take it the wrong way.

And he was probably right.

I knew how he meant that.

I knew of the relationship, but it was so funny.

This would happen periodically.

You know, over the years, how would the old man have done?

And, you know, people handle these things differently.

But Kobe had such fun with it, and there was such a reverence, not just a friendship, a reverence for his basketball idol on that.

That I think about that.

Um, you know, when you look at these these big games, you know, you just had on the screen the car and he said he had 60 points.

I wasn't at that game, but there were games like that, and it was one of the first things he's saying.

I'd say, Yeah, I'm gonna call until he was pulled out the phone.

Now let's call, let's tell, let's tell the old man what I did to that in case he wasn't watching and Jordan loved it.

He just loved it.

And people did not realize we weren't in a social media time for most of that, if any of it.

And they didn't realize just how much they adored each other.

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