0:05 [Music]
0:09 welcome back to the Corp I am your
0:12 co-host big cat Dan cats you may know me
0:15 from the number one sports podcast part
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0:22 it right now you might know my co-host
0:26 from I don't know 14-time all-star
0:30 three-time MVP New York Yankee Alex
0:31 Rodriguez are you gonna say the World
0:33 Series because I always forget the World
0:34 Series and you make sure you make sure
0:37 to point that out I love that okay so we
0:39 have Kobe Bryant it was an unreal
0:40 interview so much fun
0:43 to go interview Kobe Bryant he is so
0:45 intense I want to I want to do a little
0:47 like debriefing because we're actually
0:49 taping this right after it before we do
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1:50 it's just a big circle love okay so Kobe
1:53 Bryant can I just say we haven't talked
1:55 we actually we so we taped this we're in
1:58 LA right now we taped this I don't know
1:59 two hours ago we haven't really debrief
2:01 so we're gonna actually debrief right
2:04 now Kobe Bryant is intense and I don't
2:06 know if he liked me a rod I was a couple
2:07 when I asked
2:11 the goat thing that was a he's stared
2:12 right through my soul so my answer is
2:17 yes yes yes yes yes yes I mean it was he
2:19 is yes a million stories we could talk
2:22 to him for hours so many stories
2:26 the biggest takeaway I had how similar
2:28 your business career in his business
2:30 career are he talked about the big
2:34 picture and how even when he was a you
2:36 know a rookie in the league he was
2:38 thinking okay at some point I'm gonna be
2:42 you know going on from sports and making
2:43 a living somewhere else and and and
2:45 trying to figure out what businesses I'm
2:47 excited about and you did the same thing
2:49 investing in real estate in Seattle when
2:52 you started out in MLB and I think big
2:54 picture always thinking what's gonna
2:57 happen in 20 years down the line is why
2:59 Kobe is successful why you're successful
3:02 15 years ago they were talking about him
3:04 not going out to to the club with his
3:06 teammates and not going to the
3:08 restaurants he actually got a bad rap it
3:11 was bad and he told us today that he was
3:13 in his room reading and he was writing
3:16 and practicing and of course a year
3:18 after retirement from basketball he wins
3:19 an Oscar mm-hmm but what I was most
3:21 impressed with I got to tell you we
3:23 gotta be doing big business did you see
3:26 the size of that office it's 20,000
3:27 square feet it was enormous I'm
3:29 wondering why the court offices aren't
3:31 as big there was so much body armor my
3:33 tummy started to hurt this was fun
3:35 though because we talk business with
3:37 Kobe we talked playing career
3:40 helicopters helicopters smush Parker he
3:42 still does not like smush Parker that
3:44 was very apparent also the worst shoe
3:46 that's ever been created the 2002 I
3:48 think 2002 he created the Kobe to's he
3:50 was not happy when you challenged them
3:51 about it when I showed him that shoe
3:54 than like jump maybe jump he he
3:56 basically like he just pretend that she
3:58 never existed until I shows he was like
4:00 oh my god I created that shoe he never
4:01 said the name he's at the other company
4:03 other company the other company you
4:05 could do the math on that but yeah Kobe
4:08 Bryant you know five-time NBA champion
4:11 not the goat but close you know Kobe I'm
4:16 a Kobe guy Oh get MJ on this podcast and
4:17 you're gonna say you're an MJ guy and
4:19 imagine yeah
4:20 okay no you know the head you're I'm
4:22 fine I'm fine with that we could do that
4:24 all day but you know what if you want to
4:27 come on the Corp season two will be that
4:30 guy that's perfect so hope you enjoy
4:33 Kobe Bryant please rate review subscribe
4:36 unsubscribe to this podcast and more
4:38 than anything give us the feedback tweet
4:40 us you know hit us up on Instagram we're
4:41 gonna be doing a live Instagram in a
4:44 week talking to the two everyone who
4:46 listens to the Corp we want to hear from
4:48 you we want to know what you got away
4:51 from each episode so do that we'd love
4:53 to hear from you but please enjoy our
4:59 interview with Kobe Bryant you're
5:01 listening to the core
5:05 presented by barstool sports okay we now
5:07 welcome on a very special guest he
5:08 doesn't need an introduction but we'll
5:11 introduce him anyway 18 time all-star
5:14 five-time NBA champion it is Kobe Bryant
5:17 we're here at your offices in Newport
5:19 Beach and it is the core problem with
5:22 obviously a rod and I want to start
5:26 present day and then go backwards so you
5:29 have gone from being a transcendent
5:32 athlete to an unbelievable businessman
5:34 and it's very similar to what a rod has
5:35 been doing with the a rod Corp yeah
5:38 mostly from my help but have you noticed
5:41 you know do you attack business the same
5:43 way as sports and have you ever had a
5:44 moment where you're like I got to chill
5:46 out because the business world's not
5:51 like the sports world oh the same but
5:53 also different right the same in a sense
5:54 that the attention to detail is there
5:57 just like it is in sport the attention
5:59 to detail right but it's different
6:03 because of the intensity that you bring
6:05 it's not like a game it's not like
6:07 practice right you have to have patience
6:09 you have to challenge people you have to
6:11 hire well and find people that have a
6:13 certain level of you know that demand
6:15 excellence from themselves right and
6:17 have that attention to detail about
6:19 themselves and then you want to building
6:22 a team of people that have that passion
6:24 and commitment to excellence so that's
6:26 the that's the difference is that now
6:29 I'm kind of more in a GM transition as
6:31 opposed to being a player that is on the
6:32 ground floor bringing
6:35 out the intensity in each guy every
6:36 single play it's a little different have
6:38 you noticed a moment where you're like I
6:42 can't maybe I can't be as intense as I
6:44 was during sports I can't demand people
6:47 to be here till midnight or practice
6:50 without a ball for three hours or no
6:52 listen my thing is really simple here is
6:55 that you know I expect excellent work we
6:57 all do so I don't care if you're here in
7:01 the office at 6:00 a.m. and you leave at
7:04 midnight if the work that you do is
7:06 average this is not the home for you
7:08 conversely you cannot be in an office at
7:11 all and have excellent work this is the
7:13 place for you so I don't really care if
7:14 you're here there's a lot of guys that
7:16 get in the gym and work hard work hard
7:18 work hard work hard but then they can't
7:22 transition that to 7:30 yeah right I can
7:23 already tell that I wouldn't make it one
7:26 day in this office I'm really good at
7:29 looking busy but not doing anything yeah
7:32 you gotta get results or so Kobi one of
7:33 the things that I've been super
7:35 impressed with by watching kind of your
7:37 organization how you transitioned is
7:39 really the team that you surround
7:40 yourself with you know whether there's
7:44 you know from Brian tamale to to the
7:46 rest of your team what are the
7:48 characteristics that you're looking
7:50 forward to bring into your team is it
7:52 much like you want a teammate for the
7:53 Lakers those type of course or what are
7:55 you what are you looking for supportin
7:58 thing is curiosity first I want curious
8:01 people people that ask questions that
8:03 want to figure things out figure out new
8:05 ways to do things that's the most
8:07 important thing and then from that
8:10 curiosity having a determination to see
8:12 that curiosity through all right to
8:13 figure out those steps and if you figure
8:15 out okay this is a particular course of
8:16 action that we feel like we should be
8:18 taking has it been done before no but
8:20 that's exciting to me let's figure it
8:22 out those are the characteristics that I
8:25 look for first and foremost so you say
8:27 curiosity I read a story of how you like
8:30 text with business people 3:00 in the
8:31 morning 4:00 in the morning Micra Poli I
8:35 think you know with you know people in
8:36 the tech industry has anyone been like
8:38 yo Kobe just chill out like stop texting
8:40 dogs they're all about as crazy as I am
8:42 yeah what is that though is there just
8:43 you can you see it in a person the
8:45 minute you meet him like this guy
8:47 this woman they just want it more than
8:49 everyone else I think so I think you can
8:50 sense it you can you know when you're
8:52 having a conversation with somebody you
8:53 can tell if they're truly passionate
8:55 about what it is that they're doing yeah
8:57 I have it listen bro you can't build
8:58 what you build and not be there all
9:00 right if you didn't have it you wouldn't
9:02 be seeing it right anyways you don't put
9:05 it with that shrink my way in yeah I'm
9:07 saying yeah you can you can certainly
9:10 recognize that and you feel a sense of
9:13 familiarity that person you said I read
9:14 a quote that you said you love business
9:16 as much as basketball there's no way
9:19 that's true it's 100% real there's no
9:21 way you look I mean basketball was your
9:23 life you your passion everything you
9:24 you're telling me you love doing
9:26 business as much if you could you know
9:29 basically snap a finger and be twenty
9:32 five-year-old Kobe or the Kobe today you
9:33 wouldn't go back and keep playing
9:35 basketball no because I've already done
9:38 it see here's the thing when I was
9:41 playing and teammates would say oh
9:44 Kobe's not out in the road what is he
9:46 doing you see me on the plane he's
9:48 reading what is he reading he's writing
9:51 what is he writing I'm practicing I'm
9:54 writing I'm practicing I'm understanding
9:56 how to tell stories I'm reading Joseph
9:58 Campbell and how to create arts
10:00 compelling arts and plots I'm reading
10:02 that stuff so this is going back 15
10:05 years right so I don't just retire right
10:08 deer basketball and lucky in the winning
10:10 an Oscar you don't say yeah stuff comes
10:13 from hard work and from studying for 15
10:14 years how to write and how to organize
10:17 structure right and you can't do that
10:19 without having a serious love or
10:21 commitment to the craft and and that's I
10:23 mean alex has told the story but you
10:26 know your rookie year and in Seattle
10:27 when you started investing in real
10:29 estate and basically while you were
10:32 playing baseball also getting you know
10:33 working in business and learning the
10:35 ropes in business yeah I know I mean
10:37 coke and I have so much in common we
10:39 kind of came up at the same time but one
10:40 of the things we have in common is we
10:42 was show up at universities yeah I know
10:44 he was show up at Duke you know I took
10:45 classes at Columbia Business School
10:47 Miami business school and people are
10:48 like why aren't you in a yacht why
10:49 aren't you in vacation I'm like I'm
10:52 practicing I am getting ready I don't
10:53 know when they're gonna kick me out of this
10:53 this
10:56 and at the same time is not just about
10:58 moving forward but also it's about
10:59 having fun I agree with Kobe I'm I
11:01 sometimes forget that I played
11:03 basketball and major leagues yeah I mean
11:05 baseball for 23 years yeah because I'm
11:07 so excited in the moment yeah that
11:14 sounds really weird to people right you
11:17 know like I remember I said um I told
11:19 somebody I said listen if what I do in
11:22 the next 20 years is not better than my
11:23 last 20 then I failed
11:25 like that's disrespectful to what you've
11:27 done the last 20 years how could you say
11:28 my man
11:29 I wouldn't accomplish what I
11:31 accomplished my last 20 years if I did
11:33 not have this mentality to begin with so
11:36 yeah I mean I think I think to the
11:38 average person like myself it's you know
11:40 it's crazy because obviously a dream
11:41 when you're a kid was to play
11:43 professional sports so yeah you couldn't
11:45 imagine anything higher than that
11:47 yeah and then you guys obviously lived
11:49 it and then you move on and it's like
11:51 well you know this is the next chapter I
11:53 want to go back real quick though Duke
11:55 how where would you have ranked on the
11:57 most hated Duke players if you had gone Duke
11:59 Duke
12:05 probably number one you would have gone
12:07 to Duke though well here's the story
12:12 about that is Coach K kept recruiting me
12:14 you can't recruit me you didn't he
12:16 didn't just resign to the fact that I'm
12:18 gonna go pro he was persistent about it
12:21 so at that moment in time for me to make
12:23 a decision to say okay you know what I'm
12:24 not gonna go pro it would have been do
12:26 cuz Coach K just kept going kept it on
12:28 Roy Williams did too when he's at Kansas
12:31 Dean Smith did not think Dean sent me a
12:34 letter and he was like hey listen this
12:37 is a home for you but I from what I hear
12:38 you're good enough to go pro and you
12:40 probably will so I don't want to waste
12:42 your time but you know this is a home
12:43 for you if you ever want to take a visit
12:45 here and you know and change your mind
12:48 or whatever but Bobby Knight I did get a
12:50 letter from Bobby Knight but that wasn't
12:52 something that I would imagine is like
12:54 reverse psychology like you stink Kobe
12:56 you could never play for me yeah Phil
12:58 Jackson does that Yeah right wait just
13:00 does it through the media so I mean that's
13:00 that's
13:03 because you obviously decide did you was
13:04 it a hard decision but like I'm going
13:05 pro or did you just know cuz a rod
13:08 obviously did the same thing yeah you
13:11 know as a young kid 17:18 calling to be
13:14 a pro athlete it was uh it was a tough
13:19 decision I you know ultimately the key
13:21 factor for me was wasn't whether or not
13:24 I was ready it was the fact that if I
13:26 wasn't ready I was determined to figure
13:29 out how to get ready and ultimately even
13:32 if I was ready I still need to improve
13:33 anyway mm-hmm
13:36 right so the works not gonna stop it was
13:37 just a matter of do you want to come to
13:39 the league and learn from the best and
13:40 I'm doing the math in my head I'm
13:42 looking at Stockton how many years his plan
13:43 plan
13:46 Drexler how many years he's playing MJ
13:47 how many years anymore he's playing a
13:48 Keane and these are players that I
13:51 studied growing up and the best way to
13:53 learn from them is to have that jump off
13:55 of the film jump off of the page and see
13:58 it face to face that's the best way to
14:00 learn cuz I had it was like a database I
14:02 had everything in my mind and what they
14:03 could do what they didn't like to do
14:05 where they did it when they did it now
14:07 if I could see that up close that is the
14:09 greatest form of Education that I could
14:11 possibly receive so that's when I was
14:13 like nah I'm gonna I'm gonna go pro so
14:14 that's interesting because I think
14:16 there's a sports debate that's had a lot
14:18 where a guy it's more happens in the NFL
14:21 where a quarterback comes out and people
14:23 say well he was in the wrong system and
14:25 his offensive line stunk right away and
14:27 it kind of ruined his career do you
14:30 think with what you just said it sounds
14:32 like you think that if you're gonna make
14:33 it you're gonna make it no matter what
14:36 and if there's no like oh well things
14:37 didn't go your way the first year and it
14:39 ruined the you know the trajectory of
14:41 your career it's either you have it or
14:41 you don't
14:43 sounds like excuses to me I mean you got
14:45 to figure it out right if you really
14:47 have an obsession to figure it out you
14:49 will figure it out right and every
14:51 puzzle is constructed differently a a
14:53 situation when he came into the league
14:55 was different than mine Mike situation
14:56 in Chicago was different than mine right
14:58 everybody has a different puzzle man you
15:00 just got to figure out your own puzzle
15:01 it's it's interesting to think about
15:03 like the the sliding doors of like if
15:05 you go to Charlotte if you stay trying
15:08 or if you don't I mean you know or we
15:10 can talk about it now the Bulls I have
15:11 always been intrigued because you know
15:12 I'm a Bulls
15:13 there were two different times where it
15:15 was like Kobe's coming to the bolts yeah
15:20 and in 2004 at 2007 you know even in
15:22 2007 it was even into the season I
15:23 remember you had that video to like buy
15:26 a Bulls Jersey you know like saying you
15:27 know if you want to be a Kobe fan how
15:29 when you were thinking about going to
15:31 bowls there's always this narrative no
15:33 one wants to play in Michael's shadow
15:36 were you thinking no I want to be in
15:39 Chicago and go pass Michael no I was
15:41 thinking like if you're gonna be a great
15:42 franchise you have to have multiple
15:44 great players that's what the Lakers
15:47 have done here that narrative in LA yeah
15:49 that Giri you have Elgin you had magic
15:51 yet myself yet cream yet I mean got
15:53 LeBron I mean it's just one of those
15:55 franchises that continued Yankees - yeah
15:57 right so why are the Bulls any different
15:59 right because you have Michael now
16:00 everybody's intimidated to go play by
16:02 that's ridiculous well I obviously I
16:05 think the narrative is is basically made
16:06 so that the front office can get a pass
16:09 for never something that's really comes
16:10 down to far be true well you were ready
16:12 to do it I mean would you have I mean
16:14 you were was there a part of you
16:15 mentally that was like I'm gonna be a
16:18 ball yeah yeah like we were planning
16:21 looking at homes schools the whole thing
16:24 that's crazy man yeah so you know I know
16:27 that Jay West Michael Jordan was like a
16:30 big brother to you Brian Shawn there's a
16:32 lot of people that influenced you in a
16:34 big way and we're gonna get to that but
16:36 in the business community some of the
16:39 Titans you've talked to tell us some of
16:40 the people you've learned from the most
16:41 and some of the people that have
16:42 mentored you the most and somebody who
16:44 you look up to yeah so the people I've
16:45 learned from the mode when I had the
16:47 idea of first starting a studio the
16:49 first person I call was Oprah Winfrey
16:52 mm-hmm and we sat on the phone about a
16:53 hour and a half two hours we went
16:55 through the history of building hardball
16:58 and things that she felt she did well
16:59 things that she felt like she didn't do
17:01 so well and kind of walked me through
17:04 her journey you know to help me on mine
17:07 another person is Mark Parker CEO of
17:10 Nike you know I speak often he's really
17:13 helped me through a lot of decisions Tim
17:14 Cook and Johnny Ives
17:18 Apple or so I would say those three are
17:19 the biggest ones I've had the most
17:21 influence in what I'm currently
17:23 building now any common theme between
17:24 those three that you kept saying they
17:26 keep saying the same similar the amount
17:28 of mistakes that are made mm-hmm right
17:29 because we tend to look at them and say
17:31 okay they don't make mistakes they don't
17:33 make bad decisions and that can be any
17:34 further from the truth
17:36 mm-hmm they all make mistakes you all
17:39 make decisions and you just continue to
17:41 plow forward continue to figure it out
17:46 so I wanted to touch on the evolution of
17:49 you as a teammate in 2000 I think for
17:51 Phil Jackson writes the book yeah and
17:52 it's like Kobe's uncle still waiting on
17:54 my royalties oh yeah he says Kobe's
17:56 uncoachable what was it what was your
17:57 reaction in that moment when you see
17:59 that you read that a guy that you have a
18:01 relationship has success with I was I
18:04 was frustrated by it you know I mean
18:06 because it was always a type of
18:07 relationship where it was like you know
18:10 for me it's just come at me direct I
18:12 mean I'm right here you don't have to be
18:14 yes me we can just hash this out you and
18:18 me and he would rather not do that
18:20 because that's uncomfortable right he'd
18:22 rather go to the media and do it so a
18:23 lot of stuff that I read in the book was
18:25 the first time I've ever heard any of
18:26 this stuff and I'm like dude I'm
18:30 literally right here right you know so
18:32 when he came back you know that's one of
18:33 the things that he said he'd apologize
18:35 for because I listen you know I
18:37 understand I we should just have a
18:41 direct relationship and and that's how
18:43 we were able to kind of move forward it
18:45 was really frustrating man apologies
18:46 good but the royalty would be nice too
18:49 yeah yeah this is like just like your
18:52 third book on me now great I'm a book on
18:58 this was there any truth to it though do
19:00 you think was there a moment when you
19:02 read that and you had to you know kind
19:03 of take a look at yourself and like
19:05 maybe I am NOT the best teammate because
19:07 there's always this really interesting
19:09 line to me when you're watching you know
19:11 athletes at their highest level yeah a
19:15 guy who is a clear alpha leader he runs
19:18 a team there's that line of is he from
19:21 like his ego is out of control - he just
19:23 wants the most out of people right you
19:24 know like Michael Jordan punch Steve
19:26 Kerr in the face like you know there's
19:28 stories of you pushing their teammates
19:31 and and train you know maybe getting
19:32 some of them kind of crumble in the moment
19:33 moment
19:35 yeah do you did you see that and kind of
19:37 reflect and say hey maybe I need to do a
19:40 different do this differently well I
19:44 think there's a couple answers that so [Music]
19:46 [Music]
19:49 drive a hard bargain
19:52 the people that I've always had issues
19:54 or problems with are the people that
19:56 don't demand excellence for themselves I
19:59 won't tolerate that except then when the
20:01 career is said and done they're not
20:04 going to be looking at you a player on
20:06 his team and saying you didn't win a
20:08 championship no doing me looking here
20:11 right so it's my responsibility to make
20:12 sure everybody's holding themselves
20:13 accountable I'm holding you accountable
20:16 if we just play the back to back and we
20:18 have practice the next day your ass
20:20 better be there tape ready to go mm-hmm
20:22 right cuz I'm there and I'm ready and I
20:23 just got finished lifting weights for
20:25 two hours right so our whole guys to a
20:28 higher standard and I don't sugarcoat
20:30 stuff never have never will
20:32 right that tends to rub some people the
20:34 wrong way now it seems everyone
20:35 championships on me and all of those
20:38 guys still close to this day extremely
20:40 close right Lamar
20:43 they're not still close Fischer Shannon
20:46 Brown deep fish all my gosh all Shaq
20:49 right even Shaq Powell smush Parker no
20:53 no okay another to talk about that's
20:55 that's one of the people that would
20:56 probably say I was a bad teammate yeah
20:59 yeah yeah most mostly other guys men
21:00 that you know you want up having this
21:04 bond so you know you can't have those
21:06 kind of relationships with guys years
21:09 after playing with them and be a bad
21:11 teammate yeah no that's fair that's fair
21:13 it's funny I want to piggyback on that
21:15 because it is so true you know I mean I
21:17 wasn't as fortunate to win them a
21:19 championship or as good to win as many
21:21 chambers but Kobe but you know nine that
21:23 roster I mean they're like 24 brothers
21:25 and to this day if one of them texts me
21:27 right back I mean within five minutes
21:29 I'm headed back because you build this
21:32 incredible bond that only if you're one
21:34 of the in our care case 25 I think 12 in
21:37 your case is this bond that never goes
21:39 away and all of a sudden you become a
21:40 good teammate yeah become nice you
21:43 become this but it's a hard line between
21:45 the best leaders are not always the most
21:47 popular ones and I think
21:48 sometimes people have our time to time
21:50 they do not like I'll give you a story
21:52 of the stuff that was frustrating and
21:54 the whole selfishness stuff and all that
21:56 stuff was frustrating if it will come to
21:58 me and say it was a year there oh three
22:01 where I had 40 points in nine straight
22:07 games Shaq was out it was a toe thing so
22:09 Phil comes to me for distressed as Kobe
22:10 we need you to take over the offense
22:13 Mike all right cool so that's really no
22:15 more I got it I got it
22:18 so that literally started the streak of
22:20 40 straight game you know 40 points in
22:22 nine straight games Shaq comes back from
22:24 injury and Phil goes you know I still
22:25 continue to do it right and then Phil
22:27 calls me to his office goes eh you know
22:30 we're starting to lose the big fella do
22:32 you mean well he's not getting the
22:34 attention you know this this forty point
22:37 streak is starting to kind of take away
22:40 his fire hmm to prove something right so
22:42 I need you to start dialing it back I'm
22:46 like what says we're gonna lose him and
22:51 we need him in June okay all right you
22:53 have a game against the Clippers yeah
22:54 like 38 or something like that a chance
22:56 to score 40 gonna get 40 again it's a
22:58 blowout game like dump the ball on the
22:59 Shaq instead of shooting a wide-open
23:01 shot the 40 point streak ended that night
23:02 night
23:06 Wow that was it and that's inside stuff
23:10 that people don't know right cuz Phil
23:12 was like hey we got a dollar bag got a
23:14 dollar back it was the big fo perfect
23:16 Kobe - you're like he's like you gotta
23:17 dial it back you're like I'll score 38
23:19 instead of 40 well I mean there's a
23:20 streak thing with a mint in a row right
23:22 local record right right right I would
23:23 have broke the record but instead you
23:26 know what do you think I mean your
23:28 relationship with Shaq I feel like it's
23:30 one of the most intriguing relationships
23:33 and in all pro sports yeah were you guys
23:34 ever at a point where you just wouldn't
23:37 even speak no because we were very um
23:40 very direct like I said before I'm very
23:42 straightforward right I don't care if
23:44 you're seven - or six - I got an issue
23:47 with you I'm gonna let you know mm-hmm
23:49 you know so no so we're always speaking
23:51 just sometimes there's more volatile
23:53 than others right but we're always
23:54 speaking always direct
23:57 yeah so and when when that all falls
24:01 apart I mean what was your biggest like
24:02 where would you say the the biggest
24:04 problem with your your communication was
24:06 it you know Shack not coming - no it
24:08 wasn't season enjoy it's funny when we
24:10 sat down we did the interview together
24:13 he finally copped to the fact that after
24:15 we won championships she's like I can
24:17 just relax and Coast over the summer
24:18 because I know I got a teammate who's
24:20 gonna be training 810 hours a day I was
24:23 like see that's the BSS yes that would
24:25 piss at [ __ ] yeah that's the issue right
24:29 that's the issue but also it became a
24:31 you know it's not something that we
24:32 couldn't have worked out either cuz
24:34 right maybe we've been doing it right
24:36 but I got to a point in my career where
24:39 was the rumblings and some of it created
24:41 by him that you know Kobe can't win
24:45 without me and it was I hold up hold up
24:48 no it's not true right it's not true
24:50 right and I'm not gonna retire and have
24:52 people hold that over my head
24:55 mmm-hmm no let's find out you know it
24:56 was just time to go separate ways so
24:58 that that really did bother you and it's
24:59 interesting because in today's NBA I
25:01 mean you see a guy like Kevin Durant go
25:03 to Golden State yeah you would never
25:05 have made that move no I wouldn't but
25:06 you know it different strokes for
25:08 different folks man I you know when I
25:10 was coming up it was Kobe can't win
25:12 without Shaq but I've never heard that
25:14 argument made about magic and Kareem
25:17 right or Michael and Pitt right but that
25:20 was the that was the thing being thrown
25:22 my way and I was like I will it is what
25:25 it is let's see do you think that you
25:26 got criticized more than a guy like
25:28 Kevin Durant or the guys who were
25:30 playing now know at the moment in you
25:32 know it's all different according to the
25:33 moment in time right it always seems
25:35 like more when you're in that moment you
25:36 know I'm saying I don't think there's no
25:38 more no less I think now with social
25:40 media things tend to perpetuate much
25:45 but back then conversely the stories
25:47 tend to sit a lot longer right there's
25:51 there's less fires coming yeah do you
25:53 understand on social media that you have
25:54 the craziest fan base of all time I
25:56 understand that my fans are very
26:00 passionate the Kobe standard I have a
26:02 passionate following like they are
26:04 insane whenever you do whenever the MJ
26:06 LeBron thing comes up yeah the Kobe
26:08 stands like you know they poke out their
26:10 head out from under there like just
26:13 attack you yeah passionate fan was their party
26:14 party
26:17 when LeBron came here seeing maybe some
26:19 of the Lakers fans be like no Kobe's our
26:21 guy who did that I mean obviously you
26:24 want to welcome LeBron but it shows your
26:26 impact on the team the organization no I
26:28 mean my impact on this organization is
26:31 to look forward if I have taught this
26:34 fan base anything is that we want
26:36 excellence we want championships and
26:38 it's about the purple and gold it's not
26:40 about one player and I came in here with
26:42 magic and magic embracing with open arms
26:44 as the creme and worthy and everybody
26:45 else in Jerry West and elegant and all
26:48 those guys it's our responsibility to do
26:50 the same thing for the next generation
26:51 that comes in and I take that stuff
26:53 deadly seriously I mean it's like no
26:58 guys no champions yeah yeah you know
26:59 talking about deadly serious I mean all
27:01 you got to do in any conversation if
27:03 it's getting boring all you gotta say is
27:12 Kobe LeBron Kobe Michael C that's the
27:17 type of immature question the regular
27:19 sports fan this is what we owe this is
27:22 what regular fans talk about you don't
27:24 also you you're saying years ago what
27:26 I'm saying is regular people ask really
27:32 simple questions okay okay I just am a
27:37 Kobe guy and debate well here's a fun
27:39 fact for you Kobe LeBron has as many
27:41 losses in the finals as Michael Jordan
27:43 has wins in the finals I don't care I
27:46 want to talk about mentis Kobe because I
27:48 know that mentorship has been a big part
27:50 of your life both you as a mentor and as
27:52 a mentee but one of the interesting
27:54 things for me being a six foot three
27:56 shortstop coming up out of Miami I had
27:58 one guy to look at because I was scared
28:01 as [ __ ] that they were gonna move me and
28:03 I'm like to third base nor see outfield
28:05 I'm like no I can play shortstop
28:07 you got to leave me look at cow so I
28:10 studied in you know the back in the day
28:11 we had two tapes we're gonna have
28:14 another day yeah I've studied every tape
28:16 I can get my hands on and I would go at
28:19 night visualizing how he moved his body
28:21 was six forty thirty that was enormous
28:24 for a shortstop and and I don't need
28:25 that I study on people said well you're
28:27 starting to look like him and I'm like
28:28 yeah that's because I want to be like
28:31 him right and and then Cal and I became
28:33 very very close and I remember one trip
28:35 we went to Japan representing the US and
28:38 I literally sat in his seat next to him
28:41 for like 10 hours and he said finally
28:43 dude I got a Tapout I need a nap and I
28:47 was so enamored by him so it was such a
28:49 wonderful treat for me to have that with
28:52 my mentor kind of take us behind kind of
28:54 the courage with Michael was there ever
28:56 a moment that you guys spoke but you
28:57 felt like it energized you you learned
29:00 from him yeah it was it was crazy man
29:01 cuz my favorite player was magic growing
29:04 up mmm and then I quickly realized my
29:06 father stole all my height I was gonna
29:09 be a 69 point guard you know so look at
29:11 this young guy coming up and the thing
29:13 that I marveled that wasn't the fact
29:14 that he was getting to the rim and doing
29:16 these fancy stuff it was like how is he
29:19 getting to the rim how is he doing it
29:21 right you look at the footwork look at
29:23 the fundamentals they got the spacing
29:25 the pacing right and all those little
29:28 things the angles and that's what
29:29 becomes fascinating it's like okay how
29:31 do I get there all right so I started
29:33 studying all those basics and then when
29:35 I came to lead the first time I played
29:37 against um I won his respect because it
29:39 was like this kids not scared of me at
29:40 all mm-hmm
29:42 right and he saw a kindred spirit from
29:44 that standpoint and that started a
29:46 relationship and it became something
29:50 where it was like text him anytime hits
29:52 me right back questions hits me right
29:54 back and when talking all the time and
29:56 fact we just we just speaking the other
29:59 day in fact cuz I was talking about hit
30:01 me up say Happy Thanksgiving and stuff
30:03 and how the family how's family doing
30:05 how the kids doing you know it was my
30:06 young my middle child is playing
30:08 basketball stuff right so he's asking
30:10 about it how she's doing she's good
30:13 she's good and I said you know at 12 I'm
30:14 like having a hard time remember we're
30:16 how she's doing at basketball at 12 and
30:19 I'm like kids nowadays try to do too
30:21 much mm-hmm you know like from a skill
30:23 standpoint they try to have them do all
30:25 this fancy stuff versus like the basic
30:27 stuff and so I'll teach my kids the most
30:29 basic stuff we just do it over and over
30:30 but I asked Mike I said what were you
30:31 doing at 12 do you remember what you
30:33 were doing at basketball at 12 he goes
30:36 dude I was playing baseball yeah that's
30:38 right let that sink in for a second I
30:40 was thankful for people out there who
30:41 are like
30:44 over training their kids at 12 and like
30:47 doing all this fancy stuff just let that
30:48 sink in for a second that's a good point
30:51 yeah it's crazy to think about that he's
30:53 a great mentor for all aspects I love my
30:56 class but I mean I don't know why I said
30:58 Michael earlier like I know him I
31:01 probably should put a little respect
31:03 Michael Michael Michael got stands -
31:05 yeah Mike Oh Mike you guys stay listen
31:07 I'll stand all all the time I gave you
31:09 that LeBron stat you don't think that
31:10 I've said that to like everyone I come
31:17 on is that like things that MJ we was
31:19 doing he learned from David Thompson and
31:22 Jerry those guys stuff that I've done
31:25 I've learned from MJ stuff that Brian
31:27 does learn from me and playing on the
31:29 Olympic team and we're definitely stuff
31:31 it's a chain thing man I know people
31:33 want to talk about who's this who's that
31:35 because it fills up good conversation
31:37 time or downtown whatever the case may
31:39 be before us as athletes it's really a
31:41 chain reaction you can't have one
31:42 without the other it's just not possible
31:44 that's a good point that's a good point
31:47 what uh did you see the Jimmy Butler
31:49 stuff he you know obviously he heard
31:53 Amanda trade he went and beat his the
31:55 starters with the third stringers yeah
31:56 and a lot of people are saying that's
31:58 kind of a Kobe or MJ move where it's
32:00 like he's pushing his team and saying
32:02 you need me did you think that that was
32:05 a move that you would do or you know
32:07 some of those detriment I think most of
32:16 practice yeah I mean well there's I read
32:18 a story that you used to play guys to a
32:20 hundred you did you be like you have to
32:22 stay in this gym and play me to a
32:24 hundred and I mean what was the biggest
32:27 margin of victory you'd ever wear well
32:30 you in high school I used to spy guys 99
32:32 no kidding
32:34 but you know listen these practices of
32:36 practices are meant to be competitive
32:38 they're meant to be competitive if your
32:40 practices aren't more competitive than
32:42 the games themselves you're doing the
32:43 wrong thing mm-hmm
32:45 and most of these teams and coaches have
32:48 gotten into a mindset of resting players
32:50 oh it's too much you know we're not
32:52 gonna practice light daylight daylight
32:53 they feel never gave
32:56 like they there's no days off you show
32:57 up in your work in practice yeah
33:00 and practices are going to be worse they
33:02 ought to be more physical there's gonna
33:04 be more trash-talking I'm gonna let you
33:06 know right yeah yeah you're gonna show
33:07 up today I'm gonna let you know yeah
33:09 it's gonna be embarrassing you're gonna
33:10 hate it
33:13 but when Game seven rolls around the NBA
33:15 Finals you will be prepared mm-hmm who
33:18 would win one-on-one number eight Kobe
33:19 verse number 24 Kobe
33:25 200 I think I would say number eight we
33:27 win okay I would say number eight will
33:29 win one thousand and three number eight
33:32 yeah yeah the 40 point streak yeah that
33:34 had to be cut short yeah that's the only
33:36 trash-talking me MJ I've had by the way
33:39 is his 91 MJ versus mile oh three yes
33:42 yeah you said that
33:43 Tony Allen was the toughest guy to
33:46 defend you whose last guy to defend
33:49 Kevin Durant okay Kevin Durant that was
33:51 the one that I retired without really
33:53 having to being able to figure out what
33:55 it is that he you know how I can why I
33:58 stopped him why when he first came in
34:00 the league he was easy to defend because
34:01 he couldn't go right and shoot you
34:03 should kind of shoot across his face so
34:05 that was a weakness that he had also in
34:07 the post he couldn't turn left shoulder
34:09 everything was right shoulder so that
34:10 gave me areas that I could shut off
34:11 mm-hmm right and then he started
34:13 developing it so I developed it and now
34:15 he can pull up left he could pull up
34:17 right and you can shoot the long ball he
34:19 has runners left hand right hand before
34:21 he had a left hand finish at the rim
34:23 I could always send them left force him
34:25 all the way to the basket even with the
34:26 advantage of his size he was still
34:28 uncomfortable finishing with his left so
34:30 I could clamp the right hand and now
34:32 force him into tough situations but now
34:35 he developed that so then I couldn't
34:37 really figure out is this a rhythm thing
34:38 I'm trying to count the seconds that he
34:40 takes to make his moves when does he
34:42 make them but with Tom's in the game I
34:43 couldn't really figure out that rhythm
34:45 yet so I retired not being able to
34:46 figure him out
34:48 wouldn't you say Tony Allen was the
34:49 toughest to guard you where does Ruben Patterson
34:50 Patterson
34:52 the Kobe stopper the original Kobe stop
34:55 now he's not on the list I mean it look
34:58 listen I love so when Ruben I played
35:00 together he was the one player that
35:02 would compete against me hard every day
35:04 I mean he was show up every day you had
35:06 that kind of bob huggins cincin
35:09 any tough mindset type of thing right so
35:11 I love that about him but then now he's
35:13 a free agent and now he's like oh yeah
35:14 I'm the Colby stop I used to lock him up
35:16 in practice so I called him up I say
35:19 rude dude if you need help with a new
35:22 deal yeah let me know like I will go to
35:24 the medium be like yo nobody guarded me
35:25 better than Ruben Patterson I've seen
35:26 this guy everyday a prat I will help you
35:28 with your new deal right but now you
35:31 don't piss me off yeah let me know now
35:32 you went out there mouthed off now I
35:34 gotta kill you every time I play you and
35:36 it's not gonna be a good situation I
35:38 love every now and then like someone be
35:40 like I'm the new Kobe stop what are you
35:41 doing you're just making it worse for
35:42 yourself and my favorite thing was
35:44 seeing Shawn Kemp before a playoff game
35:59 45 another thing we have in common is
36:01 that you know we had any issues a lot of
36:03 people don't know that I'm very grateful
36:07 because my knees were banged up and you
36:09 said Alex you got to go see my guy in
36:11 Germany so I went to see dr. Peter
36:14 Wellington and literally says you sent
36:16 me there my knee has not hurt we want a
36:18 championship we've done all probably the
36:21 last five years pain free tell us a
36:23 little bit about you routine you're a
36:25 Newport Beach and you you take a
36:27 helicopter walk us through it and why
36:28 and how that started a lot of people
36:31 don't know that story yeah so um I
36:35 always get to practice really earlier my
36:37 routine is always the same you know I'd
36:39 wake up 4:00 in the morning and I lift
36:42 weights you know really early 5:00 in
36:44 the morning getting home at about 6:30
36:45 and time and wake up the kids for school
36:48 and then I take the kids to school every
36:50 morning that's what I do I take him to
36:51 school and then after I take him to
36:52 school I go to practice
36:53 I Drive the practice and this is when
36:55 before people started really moving down
36:59 south so I can get down to LA in 30 40
37:01 minutes right so I practiced I'd stay
37:03 late after practice get my shots up
37:05 treatment up drive back and I can get
37:06 back in time to pick the kids up from
37:09 school you know after-school activities
37:11 all that fun stuff even on weekends but
37:13 then traffic started getting really
37:15 really bad right and I was sitting in
37:16 traffic I wanted to missing like a
37:17 school play he's not sitting in traffic
37:19 and this this thing just kept mounting I
37:20 had to figure
37:22 a way where I could still train and
37:25 focus on the craft but still not
37:27 compromise family time and so that's
37:30 when I looked into helicopters and be
37:32 able to get down and back in 15 minutes
37:34 and that's when it started
37:35 so my routine was always the same
37:37 weights early in the morning kids to
37:40 school fly down practice like crazy do
37:42 my extra work media everything I needed
37:45 to do fly back get back in carpool line
37:47 pick the kids up and my wife was like
37:48 listen I can pick them up I'm like no no
37:51 no I I want to do that because like you
37:53 know you have road trips and Tom's
37:55 you're not you don't see your kids you
37:57 know so like every chance I get to see
37:58 him and spend time with him even if it's
38:00 20 minutes in your car like I want dad
38:03 right so that that would be my routine
38:06 oh so no nap though cuz you know if I
38:08 was tired I take a nap I pick him up
38:11 from school right go home I lay down for
38:12 about an hour or so and then I go to the
38:14 game but that wasn't like a set routine
38:16 for me if I was tired I went to sleep
38:18 was it I didn't Kove about if you had a
38:20 road game saying Miami yeah 7:30 game
38:22 same you'll get up early in the weights
38:24 get up early do weights I have a
38:26 breakfast get on the bus go to shoot
38:29 around get your shots up come back to
38:32 the room do treatment ice stretch I may
38:34 watch a movie I mean watch a little
38:36 extra film right depending on on what
38:39 movie the bust the stadium so we have we
38:42 had two buses a first bus was generally
38:45 for 34 45 second Buster's generally like
38:48 five thirty which bus were you on
38:51 generally the early one who's just to
38:52 get treatment and get shot so cuz I like
38:54 getting the arenas and sometimes I would
38:56 actually get a car uh-huh and leave
38:58 before the first bus because even though
38:59 the first bus is leaving early there's
39:02 still people in the stands coming yeah
39:04 and I like getting to arena's when
39:05 there's nobody in there and you can kind
39:07 of feel the purity of the place uh-huh
39:08 you know especially in a road
39:10 environment users yeah yeah well no but
39:13 I mean it's a certain yeah purity to
39:15 that and your routine at that time how
39:17 many shots you trying to get up at that
39:18 time so it depends so like if I was
39:22 playing if I was playing the Spurs for
39:25 example the amount of shots varies
39:26 depends on how I'm feeling physically
39:29 but the spots if I was playing the Spurs
39:31 will always like short porch hmm right
39:33 short corner shots
39:35 mid elbow shots those type of shots
39:36 because those are the shots up don't
39:39 give up don't always give up or you know
39:42 screen roll action tim is always backing
39:44 up you got a little short pull up right
39:47 so I would go through those and then if
39:51 I was playing like Memphis and got
39:53 arrested with Tony Allen I work on a lot
39:55 of back to basket stuff mm-hmm right put
39:57 my body on Tony making sure my foot
39:58 works right to elevate make sure I'm
40:00 hiding the ball that he can't swipe and
40:02 take it going through those muscle
40:04 memory things so the positions of the
40:05 shots would vary depending on the
40:07 opponent yeah all right you have to go
40:09 in a second cuz you're a very busy man
40:11 I'm gonna do rapid fire real quick all
40:13 right give me one one word one God
40:15 answer Matt Barnes incident it went Reve
40:18 iral were you was he actually throwing
40:20 the ball fit pump faking it right in
40:22 your face man as far as I remember yeah
40:23 I mean all I can go by is what Matt said
40:25 Oh Matt just saw him I just worked out
40:27 his kids um I would hear like a week ago
40:29 for their birthday he's this you know
40:31 when he first came to the Lakers he's
40:32 like me I don't understand how the hell
40:37 you did not flinch now when people were
40:40 ruining a great memory Marc Madsen
40:45 dancing a real life Elain dance move
40:47 from sighs oh that's a good point that's
40:47 a good one
40:50 you're mm rap album were you just like
40:56 [ __ ] it I can do anything myself when
40:58 that bad out myself went that bad but it
40:59 taught me how to write okay
41:02 the Kobe twos the worst shoe of all time
41:04 Kobe twos which ones no I'll show you
41:07 the picture you know once you're no no
41:09 the other company doesn't count
41:11 yeah those count that company doesn't
41:16 count that's that that's what taught me
41:18 that I need to lead the design charge
41:20 that picture is awesome
41:23 this is like this is like the a-rod take
41:24 do they not kissing himself in the road
41:26 they dog Bella because they're some
41:27 loser photographer being like Kobe's
41:30 first of all first of all listen I'm an
41:31 african-american but I am NOT that dark
41:34 yes I start deer and then the Hat in the
41:36 wardrobe and all that like you know yeah
41:38 Photography somebody took liberties yes
41:40 that's when he took the picture of
41:42 himself a rod kissing himself in the
41:43 mirror he's like yeah photographers like
41:44 this is gonna be awesome
41:48 like whoops all right what about the
41:50 little Wayne song Kobe Bryant do you
41:53 listen to it every day every day in the
41:59 car I listen to it it hides me up series
42:01 he called me he was like man that
42:02 performance just motivated the hell out
42:04 of me I think is like Game six he said
42:06 I'm gonna do a song ok can I do a song
42:08 like all right cool
42:10 my thought he was just kind of biessing
42:12 or whatever before the Celtics series he
42:14 sends me the song and I was like oh you
42:19 were serious yeah 2002 Western
42:24 Conference Finals was it rigged well low
42:26 officials named Tim Donaghy would you
42:28 definitely have money on it yeah so
42:30 that's a fact yes yes so from that
42:33 standpoint yes yes but from the Kings
42:35 missing twenty-something free throws in
42:38 game 7 good point good point unless you
42:39 go a check their bank account some
42:42 people forget that all right last one
42:45 for me is there ever been a triple team
42:48 you didn't want to shoot a shot through
42:56 you know it's true you like such an
42:58 average person hey by the way to me then
43:00 all should you're a micro Jordan Stan yes
43:01 yes
43:05 if a player today took 49 shots in an
43:08 NBA Finals game and her team loss mm-hmm
43:10 what would you say well I'd say he
43:13 probably like you went six and oh and I
43:15 just think about it yeah just think
43:16 about it that's what that sounds like
43:18 just think about it I'm just saying you
43:20 know you revisionist history sometimes
43:22 people do revisionist history is
43:24 actually going the wrong way though
43:25 because I think people are starting to
43:28 like say Michael Jordan played against
43:30 no one and the NBA in the end all here's
43:32 the thing man at the end of the day
43:34 we're he and I always say the end of the
43:37 day our goal and our mission magic Spurs
43:39 everybody is to win championships that's
43:41 it I don't care how you get there I
43:42 don't care what you do to get there I
43:44 don't care if you got to pick up a team
43:46 and cap I don't care what you do don't
43:48 care if the yell at everything doesn't
43:50 matter the goal is to win
43:52 mm-hmm period yeah so Kobe I want to
43:54 first of all say thank you for Dan and I
43:56 and I've always been a longtime admirer
43:58 thank you for being such a good four
44:00 and also to continue to set the gold
44:02 standard not only for athletes but for
44:04 you know retired athletes oh thank you
44:06 and continue great speciated my man
44:09 thank you question was good question
44:11 well depends on the team if I got
44:13 smooshed Parker laughs the best believe
44:16 I'm shooting there puffer fish bad dude
