Transcription
Unbelievable man, unbelievable. That's four. That's [Applause] four. That was Kobe Bryant immediately after game five as the Lakers claim the NBA title. And a lot of Laker faithful have stuck around here. No, I, I see, I see fans from Newport Beach. Okay, they travel. That, that's right up the street from my house. All right.
When are you going to stop smiling, man? Never. You know what? I tell you, man, this has been an incredible year. Mean, it feels like it was yesterday we're just in Beijing celebrating, and you know, here we are right now. I mean, I, I, this is crazy, man. This is crazy.
You cradle in your arms right now, you're the first recipient of the Bill Russell Finals MVP award. What does it mean to have his name attached to that? Well, you know, it's a tremendous honor. I mean, you're talking about the greatest winner of all time. So, and, uh, you know, to win this, it's, uh, you know, it feels great, but we did it as a group. So, you know, I got to ask this, you know, people have been harping all along about you might be tired or whatever, but are you ever tired? Uh, no, not really. You know, I think it was something where the adjustment that we had to make is, it's play smarter. You know, so I had to get the ball a little closer to the basket where they can't trap you, they can't double you and run you off. So I had to get it on the block a little bit more in mid-wing and then operate.
Let me ask you a question, and, and, uh, and please give me the honest answer because a lot of people want to know, how much, how special is this to win an NBA title as the guy on this team and the unquestioned leader without Shaquille O'Neal involved? People, people that say that really don't know basketball. I mean, you have dynamic duos that win championships all time, you know what I mean? So to separate one from the other doesn't make any sense. Um, but I hear those, those comments, and, you know, I just accepted it as a challenge. If this is what people's perception is, I'm just going to have to accept it and try to prove them wrong. You know what the next perception is going to be? You can't win without Pau Gasol. So just let you and Phil, Phil can't win one without an All-Star. It is so.
I, I think the one thing, when did you guys say, "We have this series"? Because there really is a pinnacle point that changes the series, and you say, "We have this. We're going to be champs." When did you feel like? After the third quarter last game. You know, that's when we understood. We, we knew where their rotations were going to come from. We knew what they were doing offensively, although Steph made some unbelievable calls, you know, throughout the course of the game that just kept us off guard. But, you know, I think after the third quarter last game, we got to feel what we wanted to do defensively, which is the most important thing.
So even when you were down five in the fourth quarter with a minute and a half, you said, "We're in good shape." No, nobody really panicked. I mean, even though, even if we lost that game, we still felt confident about what we needed to do. I mean, the reality is, you know, Howard was hitting some unbelievable shots, Richard was making some unbelievable shots that kind of gave them a cushion. Um, but we were comfortable with that.
You know, I've said that I don't think Phil Jackson is going to come back. What do you think? I'm just saying. I just, I already got a box of weed. I haven't seen that. That's cool. So I give this my present to you is the first box. I know, I know we're eating for breakfast tomorrow. So what do you think about that about Phil coming back? I think he's not coming back. Um, I don't know. I don't know. I don't have a sense either way. Um, you know, one year with this group, I mean, it's a pretty easy group for him to, to, to navigate through. Um, so I think it mainly depends on how he feels physically, you know, because it's been a struggle for him. And, uh, you know, physically, if he feels okay, he'll come back and give it another go.
You want to go ahead and guarantee next year? No, I, you know what? I know, I know, you know, Shaq's done that. I know Pat Riley's done that. Well, it's your turn now. No, I, I don't do that, man. It's just, you know, I have respect, a lot of respect for my opponents, and it was tough for us to get the W. It was a struggle. And, um, you know, we'll just enjoy this one. Get back in the lab in a couple months and then go for me.
And I know that you got to make the rounds here. A lot of folks want to talk to you, and, uh, we appreciate you taking the time to talk. Go in there and get your champagne bath, man. Go back and get your. You know what Phil was trying to duck out on? Really? Oh, Phil was hiding in the back room. I said, "Hey, Phil, come on, come on." He said, "You guys done with the champagne?" "Absolutely." Comes. Oh, we got him good. Oh, we got him good. If you were sitting where I'm sitting, you'd know he's been in the champagne. Congratulations. Get your. Oh, burns like crazy. Burns like crazy. Let me bring you joining us live here on NBA TV. We are live at the NBA Finals where the Lakers have made it 15. And this is some of the scene from that locker room. Lakers 99, 86. Y'all. We're eating.