Transcription
And we now welcome in longtime friend of Kobe, T Mac. I appreciate you joining us from your home in Houston, Texas. And just hearing Kobe's voice like that, Rad's, a new back and forth the way you guys always did. What's going through your mind?
I'm devastated, like, just like everybody else. I mean, I think I'm the one person that has the connection that nobody else has with Kobe. And I used to stay at his house with Pam, Joe, Shea, Shreya. And, you know, I just remember us, just the minute I walked through those doors, like it was just an instant bond. Then, you know, the stories that I could tell being in there and watching karate flicks and watching Michael Jordan home, home videos. And he would watch a certain part, pause it, and we'd wind the tape. Then I was just, I was like, "You know what? The hell are you doing?" And, you know, it was just him. He was, he was practicing on some of the things that that Michael was doing. He was emulating that.
And this sounds crazy, but Kobe spoke this. He spoke this. He used to say all the time, "I want to die young." And I thought he was correct. He used to say, "I want to die young. I want to be immortalized. And, you know, I want to have my career be better than Michael Jordan. And I want to die young." And I just thought he was just so crazy for saying that. And when I got the news yesterday, I had a dance with my daughter yesterday at my wife's event. And they came and told me the news. And I just couldn't believe it, just like, just like everybody else. But it's, I'm devastated. I can't even imagine.
And those pictures into young teenage Kobe, that, as you said, you have, because he felt you were his contemporary and it was someone he could let in in a way that he really couldn't anyone else in those years. And yes, hearing you say, "Oh, I wanted to die young. I want to be a legend." That's totally in line with young Kobe. But older Kobe, the Kobe that you and I spent the last year watching, the 40, 41-year-old Kobe, he wanted to be around, especially for his family. Can you tell me a little bit about just the way you guys have reconnected recently? And I mentioned earlier in the show, these AAU tournaments. It's not only texting and calling and the joking around, but then you would be at these tournaments together, and you'd be the dad's club, right?
Yeah. And clearly that statement was pre, you know, way before kids. Yes. And I'm sure, you know, once he had kids, he didn't have that mindset. You know, we go through our careers. Let me just back up. Maybe my first two, three seasons, I probably wouldn't have made it through those seasons if it wasn't for Kobe. Because he came in a year before me, same footsteps, straight out of high school. And, you know, he went through some turbulent times in his rookie season, and same with myself. I used to lean on him for advice all the time. And he would give me that advice because we were brothers.
And I went on to play for the Magic. He was playing for the Lakers and playing for championships. And me over here, I'm competing and trying to win scoring titles because I'm not competing for championships. And our relationship kind of got lost because of his mindset and what he was trying to accomplish. It was over here. And we go and play, you know, our careers. And here we are. We have kids and we reunited, you know, went through U basketball because of our kids. We're coaching our kids. And, you know, that connection, just reconnecting with him and bringing back those old memories, going out to watch his kids practice, you know, and having planned his games, playing these games. And and watching my kids play looks like the greatest, the greatest thing.
And I'll sit there and watch Gigi before the game. I'll go up and I'll give Gigi a hug and tell her, you know, to go out there and kill it. She's like, "Don't worry about that, Uncle Mac. I got this." And she was special, man. She was special. She was built like Kobe, mannerisms, everything. I mean, just to watch her play was like watching a young Kobe. The moves she had, a fadeaway, 13 years old. I'm watching this girl and it just looks like her dad out there. I'm like, "Damn, she's gonna be special." She's not gonna get that opportunity. He's not gonna get that chance for her to carry on that legacy. And I was the last heard of me. I said, and I talked the talk to Vanessa and the other three girls for like 20 minutes, watching Gigi play. My heart just goes out to Vanessa and those girls and Pam and Joe, Shea, Shreya. I mean, this, this is a, this is hard, man. This is hard.
And that's the thing, right? But we feel so much because Kobe was a basketball player and a public person, but he was a father, a husband, and a brother. And Tress, I got to tell you, I rest a little bit easier knowing that you, your wife Clarinda, are gonna be there to help take care of Vanessa going forward because she is going to need it. I can't even imagine. Mack, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate you. I will see you soon. And we all feel it. And and the way you described your friend, you did such a service to him, as you always have. Thank you. Thank you.