-Roots, love you guys. Good to see you again.

-Yeah. Well, Roots, you were just

at the Grammys last night, by the way.

I want to say congratulations. That was great.

-Thank you. -They played with Gary Clark Jr.

last night at the Gra-- in L.A.

-And then you're here. -Yeah.

-We almost missed the plane, though.

-Whoa. No. You're kidding me. -What would happen?

-Yeah. What would have happened? Do you play instruments?

-No. I can hum.

[ Laughter ]

I can't even whistle with this gap in my teeth.

-Oh, my God. -Be in trouble with me, man.

-Michael, we're happy to have you here.

It's kind of a sad day for a lot of people

because of what happened with the --

everyone who died in that helicopter crash.

You knew Kobe pretty well. You've interviewed him.

I know you posted this on Instagram --

a nice picture of you and Kobe.

Do you remember first seeing him, seeing him for the time?

-Yeah. I mean, the first time I met Kobe was years ago.

I was still a football player.

He was, you know, in a party,

and I just went up and said hello.

But always been a big fan.

But since I retired, over the last 12 years or so,

I've gotten the chance to know him a lot better.

He would come on "GMA," and I'd interview him there,

and he called me and asked me to interview him

for "Dear Basketball" at the Tribeca Film Festival.

So I went down and did an interview for him

for that documentary he won an Oscar for.

And I always loved Kobe.

I always appreciated how hard he worked.

And everyone talks about how hard people work

and how committed they are, but he had another level.

-Oh, yeah. -But he always showed love,

and he always showed a lot of, like, respect and --

I've just always thought the world of him.

So for him to call me up and ask me to be a part of something

that was so special to him, it meant the world to me.

And it still doesn't feel real. -I know.

-And we did a special report last night on ABC.

And after -- We're done, and I decide to walk home.

And I'm just walking. After 11:00 last night.

And I felt like I was floating.

I didn't realize where I was or what was going on.

And it just does not seem right.

-Yeah. It doesn't. -Yeah.

It's like we -- Had so much to give.

-Yeah. Did you get to know him outside --

Did you ever golf or hang out with him?

-No, I never had a chance to golf with him, but, you know,

he always talked about his family.

-Yeah. -Loved his family.

Loved his family. And he was just a --

He was a very focused dude,

but a funny guy. -Oh, yeah.

-You could sit, and you could laugh and he'd have jokes and --

-Oh, yeah. When he played the Knicks.

-Well, that was --

He was not joking when he played the Knicks.

He was -- -It was terrible.

-He'd beat the Knicks now. But I told him.

You know one of the first things I told him? I said,

"I'll be honest with you.

I hated you as a basketball player."

Because he would beat up on the Knicks.

Him, Michael Jordan,

and Steph Curry are the only three guys.

Every time they shot the ball,

I was surprised when they missed.

-Right. 'Cause everything went in.

-'Cause you knew he was always going to make it and upset you.

And I was like, "Dude, I hated you as a player!"

-Yeah. Yeah.

-And he just looked at me and laughed because he realized

if I didn't, he wasn't doing his job.

-That's right. -But he left a mark

of excellence and he lived a life that --

You know, I was sitting around kind of in a fog,

and then I realized, like, you got to celebrate his life, man.

He lived a life that is worth talking about,

a life that is inspiring,

a life that people can learn from.

And even in the short 41 years, he left a mark

that very few people will ever leave on this world.

-Yeah. -He is an icon.

He is a legend for a reason, because he did iconic

and legendary things in his 41 years.

-And even his post-NBA career,

he was getting into entertainment

and he was building, like, the basketball schools.

And he was just -- I was just like --

He was about to start a whole new chapter, you know?

-I think he was just getting started, to be honest with you.

And winning an Oscar right out of the NBA for "Dear Basketball"

was like -- whoa. -Yeah.

-You know, when you're an athlete --

And I know from firsthand experience

when you get out of that sport,

a lot of people think that that's all you can do.

And Kobe was a lot like me in a lot of ways.

He grew up in Italy. I grew up in Germany.

-Yeah. -Like, I realized earlier on

that football is something I could do,

but it's not everything I can do.

And for him, he realized that basketball is something

he can be incredible at, but it wasn't going to be

the only thing that he could be incredible at.

Now, we differed because

he was a lot smarter and could speak four languages.

-Yeah. Yeah. That's right. -And me, I'm like --

"Ein beer, bitte!" I can order --

I can, like, order another drink. That's about it.

But what a brilliant life he lived, and, you know, I --

My heart goes out to his wife and his family.

-Yeah. -His poor daughter, Gianna.

And also to the other seven other victims of this tragedy.

And it just seems like it happened --

It just doesn't seem real, man. -Yeah.

What do you think is Kobe's legacy?

-Excellence. Excellence. -Yeah.

-Maximizing everything you do every day.

Put your family first, you know?

Be a great father before you -- and a great husband

before you're worrying about being great at anything else.

And I think he could be as great as he was at basketball

'cause he realized the other things

were as important for him. -Yeah.

-And he had all those things balanced,

and I think excellence is the word I think of

when I think of Kobe.

And commitment

and always maximizing everything in your life.

-Thanks for talking about that.