What were the first stops that went through your mind?

What's really tough greeny?

Because, you know, it's only one year and we get introduced to these all time great athletes and entertainers through their performance.

But then when you start to get to know them, appreciate that there's a game of life that comes with this and Kobe Bryant being drafted in 1996 and Jerry West saying that that was the greatest workout that he'd ever seen.

Drafted by the Horns, traded for Vladi Divac to the Los Angeles Lakers was a child Phanom in the n b A annals, but he wasn't a starter on his own team, and a lot of people, including in his own locker room, resented that he was presented to be the Golden Child.

So very young they go to Utah, they lose a playoff game.

You shoot multiple air balls at the end of the game and people start to assassinate his character.

What does he do?

He gets in.

The Jimmy starts the work, and before you know it, Kobe Bryant becomes, ah, three time back to back to back champion, playing alongside Shaquille O Neal and then another.

I guess turbulent career thing happened when he and Shaq didn't see how the and shock left.

You remember this greeny people chose sides and they pick shack, the public pick shack.

And then shock went to Miami and won a championship.

And I remember covering the game when he and Dwyane Wade came back to play at L.

A versus Kobe.

There were no handshakes that game.

And so for Kobe Bryant to then reinvent himself again, change his number when two more championships with Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson that validated in his mind his all time greatness.

And we talk about Michael Jordan or LeBron James or whoever you want to be the greatest of all time.

But I tell you, if I look really close, there will never be another Michael Jordan.

But Kobe Bryant is the next best thing.

The turnaround jumper, the language at the press conference, the maturity to discipline the love of the game of basketball.

Kobe loved nothing more than his family in basketball, and that also rubbed people the wrong way as a young player in the league greeny because he was scoring 2025 points a game.

But he was barely 21 on eso toe.

Watch him grow up in front of our very eyes and see the 40 point explosions for a month and the 60 plus point game against the Mavs in three quarters in the 81 point game that we celebrated last week and 60 points in his final basketball game.

Like who scored 60 points in their final basketball game and then goes on to win awards for his work.

Be on basketball and, you know, for doing this for so very long.

Greeny.

You got trophies on the mantle.

You got championships, you in the Hall of Fame.

Kobe was accomplishing that already in his young career as a producer.

So we really lost the giant we lost.

Um, uh, iconic human being that just happened to play basketball, and, uh, it's really too soon to be having this conversation about somebody that's gone so very young.

It's a beautiful remembrance.

And, um, you know, he wanted Oscar is what you're talking about, and and and had his sights set on so many other things that he wanted to do in his life.

But one of the things that I wanted to do here was was trying to remember him with a little bit of a smile today.

And so I'd ask you this.

We talked about the 81 point game, but when he won his first championship, you just mentioned the three peat.

They beat your Indiana Pacers.

How would you describe what it was like trying to guard Kobe Bryant at that point when he was at his absolute best, so that Siris was just coming out?

Party greeny.

Phil wins the championship in 98 with Mike and the Bulls.

He goes to the Lakers, and they went three straight in the early 2000.

Shock fouls out, I think his game four or five and they go into overtime, and that's when they went into what we used to call with MJ, the Bermuda Triangle.

We just give it to Kobe at the top and clear it out.

And that's when he pointed to the ground after he made the jumper to get down and lay down.

And that wasn't just to the opponent.

That was to the media.

That was to the fans.

And you know what else that was to his bench?

I was on the court that was to his team to That was them, um, having to validate his greatness in front of the world.

And it was really awesome to see.

And I'm really proud that one of the most shared Kobe Bryant clips virally is ah, clip produced by Ninotchka Con and Melvin Marin myself and enjoy it today.

If you want to smile from Kobe Bryant and myself, it's called $81 and I really appreciated him doing it.

And, uh, it's gonna put a smile to your face on clearly, what's gonna be a tough day as we remember in all time great human being?

Yeah, that was from Jalen vs everybody.

I remember it well and he had a good sense of humor about that stuff, and that's the hardest part about today.

Like Michael Wilbon mentioned it, you know, we lost Hank Aaron last week.

And that's sad.

But Hank Aaron lived to be 86 years old.

He lived a full life.

We missed out, his family missed out.

And Kobe missed out on a lot of things that would have been special today, the one year anniversary.

Jalen, you're the best.

Thank you for the remembrances this morning.

And I know you will have my brother have a good day to the day.

You, too.

Thank you for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

Subscribe to ESPN, plus.