Michael Jordan remembers Kobe Bryant in beautiful tribute

I thank Vanessa and the Bryan family for the opportunity to speak today. I am grateful to be here Jonna Gigi and celebrate the gift that Kobe gave us all, what had arrived, that is the basketball player as a businessman, storyteller and as a father in the game of basketball in life as a father Kobe left nothing in the tank he left everything on the ground maybe it surprised people that Kobe and we were very close friends but we were very close Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother everyone always wanted to talk about the comparisons between him and I just wanted to talk about Kobe, you know, we all have brothers, sisters, little brothers, little sisters that, for some reason, they always tend to keep in your things, in your closet, in your shoes, everything.

It was an annoyance if I can say that word, but that annoyance turned into love over time just because of the admiration they have for you as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the questions that want to know every little detail about the life they had. about to embark he called me text message 11:30 2:30 3 in the morning talking about movements post up footwork and sometimes the triangle at first was a nuisance but then it became a certain passion this The boy had a passion that you'd never know, so it's amazing to go through it. If you love something, if you have a great passion for something, you would go to the extreme, try to understand it or try to get it, whether it's ice cream, cola, hamburgers, whatever you want.

I love you, you have the wok, you would go get it if you have to beg, son, you would go get it. What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone really cared about the way I played or the way I played. that he wanted to play the game he wanted to be the best basketball player he could be and when I met him I wanted to be the best big brother I could be to do that you had to put up with the hassle of late night calls for stupid questions. I was very proud when I met Kobe Bryant.

He was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player. We talk about business. We talk about family. We talk about everything. And he just tried. To be a better person now that he has me I'll have to find another bad crime to mix in. I told my wife I wasn't going to do this because she didn't want to see that for the next three or four years. is what Kobe Bryant does to me, I'm pretty sure Vanessa and her friends can say the same, he knows how to get to you in a way that affects you personally, even if he's being a pain in the ass, but if she I always have a sense of love for him and the way he can bring out the best in you and he did for me.

I remember maybe a couple of months ago he texted me and said, I'm trying to teach my daughter. some moves and I don't know what she was thinking or what she was working on, but what were you thinking when you were trying it growing up trying to work on your moves? I say, what age does she say? 12 I told him 12, I was trying to play baseball, he texted me saying I was laughing out loud and this is at two in the morning, but the thing about him is we could talk about anything related to the game. basketball, but we can talk. about anything related to life and we, as we grow in life, actually have friends that we can have conversations with like that, well, it's even weird when you can grow against adversaries and have conversations like that.

I went and saw Phil Jackson in 1999 or maybe. mm I don't know when Phil was here in Los Angeles and I walked in and Kobe was sitting there and the first thing I did was in a soup. The first thing Kobe said: did you bring your shoes? No, he wasn't thinking about playing, but his attitude was. compete and play against someone, he felt that he could improve and improve his game. For me, that's what I loved about the kid. I loved him. The boy, no matter where he saw me, was a challenge and I admired him because of his passion.

Rarely do I see someone who seeks and tries to improve every day, not only in sports, but also as a father and as a husband. He inspires me with what he has done and what he shared with Vanessa and her children. I have a daughter who is thirty who just became a grandfather and I have two twins I am 22-6 I can't wait to get home to become a girl dad and hug them and see the love not the smiles they bring us as parents, he me taught that just by watching this tonight, seeing how he responded and reacted to the people that he truly loved, these are the things that we will continue to learn, from Kobe Bryant to Vanessa Natalia Bianca Capri, my wife and I will keep them. closer in our hearts in our prayers we will always be here for you always.

I also want to offer our condolences and support to all the families affected by this enormous tragedy. Kobe gave every last ounce of himself in everything he was doing after basketball he showed a creative side to himself that I didn't think any of us knew he had when he retired he seemed so happy that he found new passions and continued to con

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as coach in his community, most importantly, he was an incredible father, an incredible husband who was dedicated to his family and who loved his daughters with all his heart Kobe never left anything on the court and I think that's what he I would like us to do, no one knows how much time we have, so we have to live in the moment, we have to enjoy the moment that we must achieve, see and spend as much time as we can with our families and friends and the people we absolutely love.

Living in the moment means fully enjoying each and everyone we came into contact with when Kobe Bryant died. of me died and as I look in this arena and around the world a part of you died or else you wouldn't be here, those are the memories we have to live with and learn from. I promise you that from this day on I will. I live with the memories of meeting a little brother who I tried to help everywhere I could, please rest in peace.