WEBVTT

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Who are you here to see?

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- Shaq.
- Shaq?

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What did you think about him?

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- He's big.
- He's big.

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- Who'd you come here to see?
- Kobe Bryant.

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Came here for Shaq
and Kobe Bryant.

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Do you like the Lakers?

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Oh, yeah. Big Lakers fan.
Good.

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Hopefully, they will win
this year, right?

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You got that right.
 Hit it

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In the '90s, you
haven't won a NBA title yet.

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Do you think this team
might do it?

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This is certainly our goal.

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This is, um,
what we're here for.

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It's good when you have
a lot of new faces.

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That means that there's
a change coming.

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- We're very young.

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We got mixtures of everything.

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We got a couple of veterans,

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and we got a guy that
he ain't went to college.

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Well, you can never tell
how a team's gonna jell.

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Sometimes it comes together
immediately,

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sometimes it takes
two or three years.

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So we know we have
a lot of talent,

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but we don't know
how much teamwork we have yet.

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How about five guys
playing their roles?

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Everybody don't have
their own agenda, yeah.

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We should be fine.

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There he is.
His first shot as an owner.

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You think he likes it?

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At this moment,
I can't believe it.

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What's the future?

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Want to replace your father
at the top?

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Yeah.

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Between my daughters
and my sons,

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there are certainly enough
sports teams to go around.

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Are you
and the rest of the family,

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are you guys all
on the same page?

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The Lakers caught
in the middle

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of a family power struggle.

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I think I've really
left them with something.

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Aloha and a very
pleasant good evening

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to you, ladies and gentlemen.

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I'm Chick Hearn.
Stu Lantz is with me again.

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And we're so happy
to be with you

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in this new chapter
of Laker basketball, '96-'97.

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I grew up
in Little Rock, Arkansas,

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which is a long way away
from LA.

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Derek Fisher, 6'1",

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a 200-pound rookie
out of Arkansas.

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To be drafted by the Lakers
in 1996 was

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more than a dream come true.

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You know, we obviously
had Nick Van Exel

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and Eddie Jones,
Elden Campbell.

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Byron Scott came back
and played.

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But yeah, ah,
there was no question

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whose team it was at that time.

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And now here he comes,

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the big fella,
Shaquille O'Neal.

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I think it's a
new start for you

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and an opportunity
to travel the road

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to a championship ring.

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- That's what it's all about.

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Shaq was gonna turn
the franchise around.

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Shaq was gonna give us
an opportunity

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to get back
to winning championships.

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He's dominant. You know,
he's just physically dominant.

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And he is a great
basketball player.

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He was already
a celebrity at that point.

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And I think my dad was
a little more excited

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about having Shaq
as a sports fan

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than he was
as the owner of the team.

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I'm coming in.

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If this was a mafia movie,
I'm taking over all territory.

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If this was a gang movie,

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I'm taking over
all neighborhoods.

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You don't have to tell me.
Trust me. I'm telling you.

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He's bigger than life.

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Literally the man,
when he walks in the room,

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commands all the attention
of everybody in the room.

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- I am Kazaam!

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Shaq was
the ultimate showman.

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You know, him and LA just
went together perfect.

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I used to blow his * up
to get free tickets.

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"Shaq, it's the Dogg.
What's happening?"

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I used to hit him on the pager
and the SkyTel.

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"It's Snoop Dogg.
I need nine tickets, nigga.

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Leave them at the gate."

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You had to have
a real superstar

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in order to have
a credible franchise,

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especially in a city
like Los Angeles.

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But regardless of how charming
a personality is,

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eventually,
the fans want a win.

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The first thing Jerry West did

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when I got there,
he sat me down and he said,

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"Look up."

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And as I look up,

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he says,
"Son, if you can come here

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"and win
multiple championships,

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your name will be up there
one day."

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He said,
"It ain't gonna take long.

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"I just signed this kid.

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You and him are gonna win
a lot of championships."

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When Kobe was drafted,

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you could see
the young kid's talent level.

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It wasn't like you had
to strain to find it.

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It was there.

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I mean, it just popped
right off the court.

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You're gonna forget real quick,

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and everybody has to keep that
in the back of your mind,

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that he's just 18.

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He was loved from day one.

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The fans are going,
"Kobe! Kobe!"

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Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

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And they're calling
"Kobe, Kobe, Kobe."

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I can see Kobe right now.

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Like, his swag and confidence
was through the roof.

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- College is great competition.

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But in the NBA, it's the
best players in the world,

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and I love to play against
the best players in the world.

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He was so intense
on being like Michael,

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being better than Michael.

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Everything that MJ did,
Kobe did.

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Like the chewing of the gum,
the walking,

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the moves, the footwork.

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I used to have VHS tapes
back in the day

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full of highlights
of Michael Jordan.

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Kobe asked to borrow them.

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And I have never seen
those tapes again.

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He was just like,

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"No, *,
I want my tapes."

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When Kobe came in,

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he had all the components
to be a great ball player.

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But what he didn't have
was experience.

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Would he be capable
of waiting his time?

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And there's no question his
time was gonna come soon.

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You are the youngest player

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for the Lakers right now.

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Do you feel any pressure

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coming straight out
of high school?

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- Not really.

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No, it's more excitement
more than anything.

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You know, I just can't wait
to go out there

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and just play a little.

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You know, I knew
he had greatness in him

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from day one
of watching him in practice.

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And then to have Shaq.

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You know, if they could jell,
I was like,

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man, the sky's
the limits for them.

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My main man, Showboat,
coming in here.

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This is my man,
this is my man.

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This is Showboat.

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We call him Showboat, but
y'all know him as Kobe Bryant.

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This is my main man.

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I feel like a father to him.
I mean, this is my boy.

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I mean, we play together,

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we sit on the bench
by each other.

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We're always talking.

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Then when I look at-

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you know how you go down
in the locker room

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and they list everybody's age?

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Not their age,
but they date of birth?

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- Mm-hmm.
- And I see '78.

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'78.

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And I'm like, "I'm twice
as old as the kid," you know?

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- So I've been living in LA

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since I was, like,
in third grade.

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This young man
was so respectful.

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Because I was like,
"Kobe," you know,

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"Nice to meet you.
My name is Byron."

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"I know who you are,
Mr. Scott."

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That's exactly how you-

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"I know who you are,
Mr. Scott."

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I was like, "Okay, well,

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you don't have
to call me Mr. Scott."

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- You know,

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what have your biggest
challenges been this year?

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The hardest thing,
I would say,

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has been moving away
from my family.

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You didn't have
the opportunity that we had

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as far as we were able
to adjust a little bit

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because we went to college,
so we had a chance to adjust.

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And you coming
straight out of high school.

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You know, I've never
played with anybody 18,

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19, since college.

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Sports are all about tradition.

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And after the game, the beers
were in the locker room.

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We always crack open a brew.

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Once we got Kobe on the team,

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someone comes in and says,
"You have a minor in here."

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Yeah, there's a couple guys

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that kind of got upset
at Kobe about that.

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We would go out somewhere,
and they'll look at him like,

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"Dude, I can't let you in."

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"You're not even 21 yet."

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Oh, I can get him in,

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but if you ask
somebody something

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and they say no twice,

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you know,
someone's gonna be on top.

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How can you live
in Southern California

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and just go to practice
and go home?

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He really wasn't
the club type.

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You know, he dibbled
and dabbled a little bit,

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but then he would get
on his basketball shit

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and he would be, like,
locked up.

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He just was different.

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I always
keep people arm-distant.

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You know, I'm very outgoing
and I'll talk to anybody.

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But there's a certain limit.

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I'm not gonna let just anybody
into my family circle.

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He never really smiled.
He was always serious.

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They were, you know,
opposites.

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Kobe was, you know, focused,
driven, and 18 years old.

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Kobe would kill us
in practice.

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And we was like,
"Man, slow your * down."

00:09:20.819 --> 00:09:22.245
Like,
"God damn, we in walkthrough."

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- And Shaq wanted to have fun.

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We in practice waiting on him.

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All of a sudden he comes out
the locker room * *,

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does a lap, and goes back in.

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That is indeed frightening.

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I don't know what
you're talking about.

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And they need to understand
that snitches get stitches.

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So when I see you,

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got something for you,
D-Fish and Rob.

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So there was conflict,

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and Kobe worked his tail off
to be the greatest.

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Shaq had the natural talent
to be the greatest.

00:09:50.273 --> 00:09:54.194
But it didn't seem like he
worked as hard to get beyond.

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From a distance,
you could see

00:09:56.905 --> 00:09:59.741
that these two guys were
gonna be * heads.

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Women's basketball
goes big time

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with a new league
backed by the NBA.

00:10:15.507 --> 00:10:18.260
'Bout time that
the women take the court

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and show their stuff.

00:10:19.886 --> 00:10:22.639
When I got the call
from my dad to run the Sparks,

00:10:22.839 --> 00:10:24.107
of course,
my head was spinning again,

00:10:24.307 --> 00:10:27.978
going, "Okay, now I'm older,
I'm more mature.

00:10:28.178 --> 00:10:29.488
I'm running
another sports team."

00:10:29.688 --> 00:10:33.525
But I already went through
this with the Lazers.

00:10:33.725 --> 00:10:35.986
You know,
you don't expect to win.

00:10:36.186 --> 00:10:37.538
You just build yourself up

00:10:37.738 --> 00:10:40.657
and you get there as quickly
as you possibly can.

00:10:40.857 --> 00:10:41.583
But it's the same business.

00:10:41.783 --> 00:10:42.769
You're trying
to grow

00:10:42.954 --> 00:10:46.958
and it is a sellout crowd
of some 12,000 people.

00:10:47.558 --> 00:10:48.617
It was so much fun

00:10:48.817 --> 00:10:51.987
to try out this new age of
basketball that was happening.

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When I moved into coaching,

00:10:54.156 --> 00:10:56.250
Johnny, I mean,
was just like his dad-

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not being too involved,
but involved enough.

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Coop,
I don't care what you do.

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Is it best for the team?

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just like I wanted
to prove myself

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or anybody wants
to prove themselves.

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Everything I know about
basketball and scouting,

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I learned from Jerry West.

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My dad knew I would
come in with,

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"Please just feed me
everything you got, Mr. West."

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Who's, I mean,
there's a legend right there

00:11:24.861 --> 00:11:25.954
and I'm working with him.

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He took me
on my first scouting job.

00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:34.588
Of course, that was Hawaii,
which was great, you know.

00:11:37.674 --> 00:11:40.260
When you're traveling
with horses in trailers,

00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:41.478
you're getting pretty dirty.

00:11:41.678 --> 00:11:44.598
So when we went first class
to Hawaii with Jerry West,

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I'm sitting there going,
"This is a dream."

00:11:46.725 --> 00:11:50.270
You know, I can't believe
I'm sitting next to him.

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- I thought he was shy.

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Um, always very courteous.

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Uh, he would go to these
big scouting things with us.

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He'd see games.
Uh, he'd send reports in.

00:12:02.032 --> 00:12:05.373
Stuff you kind of do
when you're starting out.

00:12:05.573 --> 00:12:08.714
My dad felt
that Jimmy had a good eye.

00:12:08.914 --> 00:12:12.876
That, given time,
Jimmy could really understand

00:12:13.076 --> 00:12:15.295
what you look for
in a great player.

00:12:15.495 --> 00:12:17.514
I thought he was fine.
I really did.

00:12:17.714 --> 00:12:21.468
Obviously, I had great respect
for Jerry and for his kids.

00:12:21.668 --> 00:12:25.055
But my only question was,
you know, the owner's son-

00:12:25.255 --> 00:12:27.190
are you hiring him to, uh-

00:12:27.390 --> 00:12:29.735
just to give him
something to do?

00:12:29.935 --> 00:12:32.896
Was he going to, you know,
be dedicated enough to do it?

00:12:36.149 --> 00:12:37.909
When I was, you know,

00:12:38.109 --> 00:12:40.987
named as the general manager
of the Forum

00:12:41.187 --> 00:12:42.956
and started running the venue,

00:12:43.156 --> 00:12:46.618
there really wasn't
much crossover between anything

00:12:46.818 --> 00:12:49.829
my brothers were doing
and what I was doing.

00:12:51.289 --> 00:12:53.300
Jeanie Buss
is a woman with a plan.

00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.794
She wants to make
the Great Western Forum

00:12:55.994 --> 00:12:57.471
the best arena it can be-

00:12:57.671 --> 00:13:00.098
at least until a new arena
is built in LA.

00:13:00.298 --> 00:13:04.177
The ambitious part of me
jumped at the opportunity.

00:13:04.377 --> 00:13:07.481
I wanted to learn and grow.

00:13:07.681 --> 00:13:10.567
My father took
our personalities

00:13:10.767 --> 00:13:14.879
and kind of helped place us
where we excelled.

00:13:15.079 --> 00:13:19.192
And Jeanie has always
been a perfectionist.

00:13:19.392 --> 00:13:21.870
- I liked the challenge.

00:13:22.070 --> 00:13:25.077
When you are
in a position like that,

00:13:25.277 --> 00:13:27.807
you have to be at work
in the morning.

00:13:28.007 --> 00:13:30.506
And then you have
to stay that night

00:13:30.706 --> 00:13:33.206
for whatever event
is in the building

00:13:33.406 --> 00:13:34.666
'cause it's your building.

00:13:36.668 --> 00:13:39.504
I told Jerry,
she doesn't have to be here

00:13:39.704 --> 00:13:41.181
for every concert.

00:13:41.381 --> 00:13:44.267
But she was very devoted.

00:13:44.467 --> 00:13:46.553
I wanted to do
whatever I could

00:13:46.753 --> 00:13:48.271
in the family business.

00:13:48.471 --> 00:13:50.190
But as time went on,
you know,

00:13:50.390 --> 00:13:55.395
I really realized how much
I was missing of a dating life,

00:13:55.595 --> 00:13:57.167
a social life.

00:13:57.367 --> 00:13:58.740
In the divorce,

00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:03.028
I ended up with a house
that was on the beach.

00:14:03.288 --> 00:14:05.373
Those years,
those three or four years,

00:14:05.573 --> 00:14:07.917
really, I had no free time.

00:14:10.045 --> 00:14:13.506
Especially when Shaq
and Kobe came to the Lakers,

00:14:13.706 --> 00:14:15.016
my phone was ringing
off the hook.

00:14:15.216 --> 00:14:19.137
People requesting tickets,
celebrities coming again.

00:14:19.337 --> 00:14:20.188
- There's some hope now.

00:14:20.388 --> 00:14:21.890
People really believe
in the Lakers again.

00:14:22.090 --> 00:14:22.899
You know, they watched them,

00:14:23.099 --> 00:14:24.151
but they really
didn't believe in them.

00:14:24.351 --> 00:14:27.062
Now they're watching them
at a record number.

00:14:31.728 --> 00:14:34.152
- That era that got ushered in,

00:14:34.352 --> 00:14:35.704
the Lake Show-

00:14:35.904 --> 00:14:37.956
It was not so much for him.

00:14:38.156 --> 00:14:41.705
And it wasn't for even us
as a family.

00:14:41.905 --> 00:14:44.414
It was really,
it'll help our fans.

00:14:48.625 --> 00:14:50.752
You talking about
expectations through the roof.

00:14:50.952 --> 00:14:53.213
Everywhere we went,
it was sold out.

00:14:53.413 --> 00:14:54.806
Like, it was crazy.

00:14:55.006 --> 00:14:56.766
We were ecstatic

00:14:56.966 --> 00:14:59.094
that we had what
you would call a big two.

00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:01.396
And they were everywhere.

00:15:05.592 --> 00:15:07.611
- Hey, you're Kobe Bryant.

00:15:07.811 --> 00:15:10.447
Oh, Kobe.

00:15:10.647 --> 00:15:12.324
Look, Mom,
it's about the SAT.

00:15:12.524 --> 00:15:14.275
I don't do well on big tests.
I freeze up.

00:15:16.444 --> 00:15:17.996
- This was the Lake Show.

00:15:18.196 --> 00:15:20.198
We're not the team that's
gonna come down and run plays.

00:15:20.398 --> 00:15:22.542
We're the team
that's got lobs, dunks.

00:15:31.668 --> 00:15:34.008
So we got an arena
filled with A-List stars.

00:15:34.208 --> 00:15:36.348
You know what I mean,
they coming to watch you.

00:15:36.548 --> 00:15:38.491
Coming to sit courtside
after becoming famous

00:15:38.691 --> 00:15:40.635
is probably the best thing
that can happen

00:15:40.835 --> 00:15:42.020
for you in entertainment,

00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:44.806
because you know that you're an
attraction at the attraction.

00:15:45.006 --> 00:15:46.107
You're watching
the basketball game,

00:15:46.307 --> 00:15:48.393
but you know the basketball
players are watching you.

00:15:49.686 --> 00:15:50.904
You know, at that time,

00:15:51.104 --> 00:15:52.489
I could afford season tickets.

00:15:52.689 --> 00:15:56.409
So being up
in the Forum was great.

00:15:56.609 --> 00:15:59.446
Yelling at the refs, you know,
where they can hear you now.

00:16:00.947 --> 00:16:03.074
We just knew
that we were gonna

00:16:03.274 --> 00:16:04.292
win a championship again.

00:16:04.492 --> 00:16:06.294
And to get into the Forum
to watch them play

00:16:06.494 --> 00:16:10.123
was gonna be the golden ticket
for the time of your life.

00:16:10.323 --> 00:16:13.105
That place was on fire,
you know.

00:16:13.305 --> 00:16:15.347
It was a magical time
in LA sports.

00:16:15.547 --> 00:16:17.364
We thought
this is the beginning

00:16:17.564 --> 00:16:18.936
of ring after ring after ring.

00:16:19.136 --> 00:16:20.508
That's what we were hoping.

00:16:25.889 --> 00:16:27.290
I grew up in Los Angeles.

00:16:27.490 --> 00:16:28.692
I was there for Showtime.

00:16:28.892 --> 00:16:31.023
And then there
was this long period

00:16:31.223 --> 00:16:33.154
of wandering
in the wilderness.

00:16:33.354 --> 00:16:36.066
But when I got to "the Times"
in '97, the Lakers,

00:16:36.266 --> 00:16:38.526
the Shaq and Kobe era,
was on the way up.

00:16:38.726 --> 00:16:40.444
I think people
thought the Lakers

00:16:40.644 --> 00:16:42.163
could be championship
contenders.

00:16:42.363 --> 00:16:45.500
It all felt,
like, preordained in a way.

00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:50.455
Although Kobe still had some
things to learn and work out.

00:16:50.655 --> 00:16:51.998
There's gonna be a time
through the playoffs

00:16:52.198 --> 00:16:53.717
where guys on the team
are struggling.

00:16:53.917 --> 00:16:55.302
And we're gonna have to go
in there and do our job

00:16:55.502 --> 00:16:58.254
and, you know, answer the call,
answer that ultimate challenge.

00:16:58.454 --> 00:17:00.256
And I love it, man.
I can't wait.

00:17:00.456 --> 00:17:02.058
And we're playing Utah
in Utah,

00:17:02.258 --> 00:17:04.094
and we were about
to lose the series.

00:17:05.595 --> 00:17:08.023
We were down 3-1
in the playoffs.

00:17:08.223 --> 00:17:11.059
If we lose another game,
we're going home.

00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:13.603
We knew it was all or nothing.

00:17:13.803 --> 00:17:15.947
We're tied at 89.

00:17:16.147 --> 00:17:17.949
It's a timeout, Los Angeles

00:17:18.149 --> 00:17:21.073
with 11.3 to play
in regulation.

00:17:21.273 --> 00:17:23.997
We were tied with Utah.

00:17:24.197 --> 00:17:27.075
What we've got to do
is get a shot.

00:17:27.275 --> 00:17:28.710
This was the time.

00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:31.588
The play was for me,
and I was open.

00:17:31.788 --> 00:17:35.416
And, um, Kobe decided
he wanted to shoot the shot.

00:17:35.616 --> 00:17:36.885
Five seconds left, four.

00:17:37.085 --> 00:17:39.796
Bryant drives.
Pull up, shot on the way-

00:17:39.996 --> 00:17:40.931
no good.

00:17:41.131 --> 00:17:42.724
Karl Malone, rebound.
We go to overtime.

00:17:42.924 --> 00:17:45.218
And everybody always asked
me this question about

00:17:45.418 --> 00:17:46.436
was you pissed off?

00:17:46.636 --> 00:17:48.930
Don't get me wrong.
Yeah, at the time I was pissed.

00:17:49.130 --> 00:17:51.266
But when you think about it,
you're like,

00:17:51.466 --> 00:17:52.767
he felt like he was open.

00:17:52.967 --> 00:17:54.706
- Now in the overtime,

00:17:54.906 --> 00:17:56.446
Utah got out in the lead

00:17:56.646 --> 00:17:59.407
and we were trying
to catch up.

00:17:59.607 --> 00:18:02.160
And Kobe shot two airballs
in a row.

00:18:02.360 --> 00:18:04.946
Bryant for three.
It's short again. Airball.

00:18:05.146 --> 00:18:08.158
Airball.
Eight seconds, seven seconds-

00:18:08.358 --> 00:18:09.042
here's a three-pointer.

00:18:09.242 --> 00:18:11.670
Airballed again
by Kobe Bryant.

00:18:11.870 --> 00:18:14.464
It's over, it's over,
it's all over.

00:18:14.664 --> 00:18:17.000
Listen, if the play
was drawn up for someone else,

00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.385
if I was open,
I would've taken it.

00:18:18.585 --> 00:18:23.006
I don't know if Kobe
was ready for that moment.

00:18:23.206 --> 00:18:25.133
But he had the heart.

00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:29.141
I told him.
I said, "Hey, man, we lost.

00:18:29.341 --> 00:18:31.773
But one day,
everybody's gonna fear you."

00:18:31.973 --> 00:18:33.833
Didn't seem like
you ever lost your confidence.

00:18:34.033 --> 00:18:36.135
Well, you can't.
You know, we came too far.

00:18:36.335 --> 00:18:38.238
Uh, once you have an open look,
shoot it.

00:18:38.438 --> 00:18:40.148
And, uh, and unfortunately,
they weren't falling.

00:18:40.348 --> 00:18:41.616
They weren't falling tonight,
but...

00:18:41.816 --> 00:18:44.444
You can see the makings
of a Hall of Fame player here.

00:18:44.644 --> 00:18:46.029
Just his understanding
of the game,

00:18:46.229 --> 00:18:47.414
his mastery
of the fundamentals,

00:18:47.614 --> 00:18:50.950
all the tools to be a great,
great player.

00:18:52.202 --> 00:18:53.336
I had to take a shot.

00:18:53.536 --> 00:18:55.163
I rushed it and I came
up a little short.

00:18:56.414 --> 00:18:58.295
this year,
we learn from those mistakes.

00:18:58.495 --> 00:19:00.376
When I get put
in that situation again,

00:19:00.576 --> 00:19:01.594
I'm not gonna miss them.

00:19:01.794 --> 00:19:03.195
He looked at that
as a learning experience,

00:19:03.395 --> 00:19:04.797
and he was gonna
come back the next year

00:19:04.997 --> 00:19:06.933
with a vengeance, and he did.

00:19:21.147 --> 00:19:24.025
Are you basically now
the basketball player

00:19:24.225 --> 00:19:25.589
you want
and think you should be?

00:19:25.789 --> 00:19:27.080
Still a long ways
for me to go.

00:19:27.280 --> 00:19:28.388
I mean,
this is just the beginning.

00:19:28.588 --> 00:19:30.356
You know,
I'm just getting started.

00:19:30.556 --> 00:19:32.125
He wasn't easy, okay?
He was not.

00:19:32.325 --> 00:19:34.827
He thought there was one guy
against the five.

00:19:36.704 --> 00:19:38.064
When Kobe was
in one of those moods,

00:19:38.264 --> 00:19:39.424
we wouldn't throw him the ball.

00:19:39.624 --> 00:19:41.459
We'd be like,
"Eh, we can't get it to you."

00:19:41.659 --> 00:19:42.939
We'd swing it the other way.

00:19:43.139 --> 00:19:44.220
And he would get so mad.

00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:47.382
The players gave him
the nickname "Showboat."

00:19:47.582 --> 00:19:48.516
And I told him,

00:19:48.716 --> 00:19:50.843
"That's the worst nickname
you could ever have."

00:19:51.043 --> 00:19:53.730
I joined the Lakers in 1997.

00:19:53.930 --> 00:19:55.273
The friction
between older players

00:19:55.473 --> 00:19:58.017
and Kobe as a young player
was simply that.

00:19:58.217 --> 00:19:59.819
He wanted it too fast.

00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:03.189
The thought was maybe
he didn't have to pay his dues.

00:20:03.389 --> 00:20:05.400
Kobe Bryant,
just 19 years old,

00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:06.701
he's been voted by the fans

00:20:06.901 --> 00:20:08.469
to start in next Sunday's
All-Star Game.

00:20:23.584 --> 00:20:25.470
- Kobe was all business.

00:20:25.670 --> 00:20:27.305
He just looked different
from the rip.

00:20:27.505 --> 00:20:29.590
The moment cuz hit the floor,
he look different.

00:20:29.790 --> 00:20:31.392
He's like a gunslinger.

00:20:31.592 --> 00:20:33.803
You know what I mean?
Coming into town,

00:20:34.003 --> 00:20:35.605
take no prisoners.

00:20:35.805 --> 00:20:37.473
He's not there
to be your friend.

00:20:37.673 --> 00:20:38.858
That energy of, like,

00:20:39.058 --> 00:20:42.103
"Nah, no, I'm the alpha male
here," started to come out.

00:20:42.303 --> 00:20:43.688
"This should be my team.

00:20:43.888 --> 00:20:44.814
Follow me."

00:20:45.982 --> 00:20:47.200
He wanted the spot.

00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:50.245
He wanted to be the guy,
period.

00:20:50.445 --> 00:20:52.493
And we had to say,
"There's this thing

00:20:52.693 --> 00:20:54.741
that's called
pecking order here."

00:20:54.941 --> 00:20:57.097
Relax. I'm still in charge.

00:20:57.297 --> 00:20:59.254
When Kareem was here,

00:20:59.454 --> 00:21:01.414
Magic always said,
"This is Kareem's team.

00:21:01.614 --> 00:21:03.228
I'm just here
to help him out."

00:21:03.428 --> 00:21:04.843
And I talked
to Kobe about that.

00:21:05.043 --> 00:21:07.841
You just say it's Shaq's team.
Just say it.

00:21:08.041 --> 00:21:10.640
And that didn't go over
too well.

00:21:10.840 --> 00:21:13.551
You know, he used some,
uh, choice words

00:21:13.751 --> 00:21:14.936
about, uh, about Shaq.

00:21:15.136 --> 00:21:17.430
"* that *."

00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:19.858
Can I say that?

00:21:20.058 --> 00:21:21.793
You guys had
a fight, you and Shaq.

00:21:21.993 --> 00:21:23.344
What was that all about?
What happened?

00:21:23.544 --> 00:21:24.954
Like I say, we're very similar

00:21:25.154 --> 00:21:26.364
because
we're both competitive.

00:21:26.564 --> 00:21:28.941
So you have two competitive
guys going head-to-head,

00:21:29.141 --> 00:21:29.909
you're gonna have fights.

00:21:30.109 --> 00:21:31.778
Did he connect
on the punch he threw?

00:21:31.978 --> 00:21:33.163
No.

00:21:33.363 --> 00:21:34.455
No, no, no.

00:21:34.655 --> 00:21:36.374
I was swift on the duck,
you know?

00:21:36.574 --> 00:21:38.142
You ducked out of it?
Did you throw one back?

00:21:38.342 --> 00:21:39.911
Yeah, well, we just
kind of got into, like,

00:21:40.111 --> 00:21:42.213
a pushing and shoving match.

00:21:42.413 --> 00:21:44.040
We, uh, touched it up
a little bit,

00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:46.084
but it wasn't a fight.

00:21:46.284 --> 00:21:48.386
I don't fight.

00:21:48.586 --> 00:21:50.680
The clash
between Kobe and Shaq

00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:53.115
was a little greater
than anticipated.

00:21:53.315 --> 00:21:55.551
It's not surprising
that the Lakers

00:21:55.751 --> 00:21:57.103
went through dysfunction.

00:21:57.303 --> 00:22:00.056
Dysfunction is part of the job.

00:22:00.256 --> 00:22:01.608
It's part of the business.

00:22:01.808 --> 00:22:03.526
Can Kobe and Shaq co-exist?

00:22:03.726 --> 00:22:05.236
Can they make it work
together?

00:22:05.436 --> 00:22:06.863
What they have to understand,

00:22:07.063 --> 00:22:10.483
it takes two stars
to win an NBA championship.

00:22:10.683 --> 00:22:11.484
You gotta have two.

00:22:16.322 --> 00:22:18.449
How well do these guys
have to get along

00:22:18.649 --> 00:22:19.667
for the Lakers to win a title?

00:22:19.867 --> 00:22:21.211
Well, they have to be
in sync on the court.

00:22:21.411 --> 00:22:23.496
And off the court, they really
don't have to get along.

00:22:23.696 --> 00:22:26.249
I think the expectations
continued to grow,

00:22:26.449 --> 00:22:29.552
uh, every year internally
for us

00:22:29.752 --> 00:22:33.005
as well as, you know,
media, fans, et cetera.

00:22:33.205 --> 00:22:35.058
You don't have
Batman and Robin.

00:22:35.258 --> 00:22:37.143
You have Batman and Superman.

00:22:37.343 --> 00:22:40.162
You know what I'm saying?
You got two alphas.

00:22:40.362 --> 00:22:43.182
And they gotta treat
each other with respect.

00:22:43.382 --> 00:22:45.360
Or not,
it's gonna be a problem.

00:22:45.560 --> 00:22:47.353
Just creates
this feeling of yearning.

00:22:47.553 --> 00:22:48.613
If they can just pull it out,

00:22:48.813 --> 00:22:51.315
like, bring it together
for this game, you know.

00:22:53.443 --> 00:22:55.136
Every little thing
becomes magnified

00:22:55.336 --> 00:22:57.029
because it could
be the difference

00:22:57.229 --> 00:22:58.206
between a championship or not.

00:22:58.406 --> 00:23:01.200
It could be the difference
between a dynasty or not.

00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:03.848
When you have
a player like Shaq,

00:23:04.048 --> 00:23:06.048
you should be
winning championships.

00:23:06.248 --> 00:23:08.249
And we were losing
in the playoffs.

00:23:09.459 --> 00:23:12.220
'97, we lost.

00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:14.964
'98, I think swept.

00:23:16.507 --> 00:23:19.177
Dr. Buss never even talked
about the pressure,

00:23:19.377 --> 00:23:20.478
but I knew.

00:23:20.678 --> 00:23:23.222
"Shaq, we just gave you
120 million.

00:23:23.422 --> 00:23:24.816
You got to step up."

00:23:25.016 --> 00:23:27.235
The criticism of you
is that you have too much fun

00:23:27.435 --> 00:23:30.229
doing other things and that
basketball is not your focus.

00:23:31.856 --> 00:23:34.233
Dr. J did a movie,
Kareem did a movie.

00:23:34.433 --> 00:23:36.068
"Shaq, you're doing too much."

00:23:36.268 --> 00:23:37.382
"Shaq's not ready."

00:23:37.582 --> 00:23:38.496
It's all my fault.

00:23:38.696 --> 00:23:40.873
Which I accept, I understand.

00:23:41.073 --> 00:23:44.294
But what I'm realizing is,
everybody,

00:23:44.494 --> 00:23:48.581
when it comes to coaching,
is thinking just like I am.

00:23:48.781 --> 00:23:50.791
Del Harris would
have been a great coach

00:23:50.991 --> 00:23:52.051
for that team in the mid-'90s.

00:23:52.251 --> 00:23:54.862
But now the standards
and expectations change

00:23:55.062 --> 00:23:57.673
when you get the likes
of a Shaquille O'Neal.

00:23:59.509 --> 00:24:00.727
Del was a teacher.

00:24:00.927 --> 00:24:04.972
And that was one of the issues
that developed over time.

00:24:07.975 --> 00:24:09.861
He let the players run,
you know,

00:24:10.061 --> 00:24:11.571
and then there was
something to be taught,

00:24:11.771 --> 00:24:15.566
so then everyone would have
to come to a standstill.

00:24:15.766 --> 00:24:18.152
You know,
shootarounds a lot of times

00:24:18.352 --> 00:24:20.538
would end up being
a Del lecture session.

00:24:20.738 --> 00:24:23.599
And then you'd just see
players just go sit down.

00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:26.461
He was on the verge
of losing everybody.

00:24:26.661 --> 00:24:29.956
And once you lose a guy,
it's hard to get him back.

00:24:30.156 --> 00:24:31.799
- He had already lost Nick.

00:24:31.999 --> 00:24:36.337
I think we lost each other.
Del and I lost each other.

00:24:36.537 --> 00:24:38.881
Del was calling plays
from the sideline.

00:24:39.081 --> 00:24:40.933
And Nick, he hated that.

00:24:41.133 --> 00:24:43.577
But then the next day,
it kind of erupted.

00:24:43.777 --> 00:24:45.733
We had to pull Nick away,
pull Del away.

00:24:45.933 --> 00:24:47.690
I mean, they got
in each other's face.

00:24:47.890 --> 00:24:53.145
You got 70-year-old Del
ready to physically fight.

00:24:53.345 --> 00:24:54.584
- Del was like, "Come on.

00:24:54.784 --> 00:24:55.971
"You're gonna walk over here,

00:24:56.171 --> 00:24:57.358
but you're gonna crawl back."

00:24:59.235 --> 00:25:00.486
Next thing you know,
they're gonna say

00:25:00.686 --> 00:25:01.612
Del did like this to me.

00:25:01.812 --> 00:25:02.914
No, man.

00:25:03.114 --> 00:25:05.658
I had a ball in my hand and
he slapped it out of my hand.

00:25:05.858 --> 00:25:09.295
So to me, it wasn't a big deal.

00:25:09.495 --> 00:25:12.090
And Del and Shaq,
they had their conflict.

00:25:12.290 --> 00:25:15.334
Once Shaquille feels,
though, you're not capable,

00:25:15.534 --> 00:25:16.711
he wants you out of there.

00:25:18.254 --> 00:25:19.764
My thing
with all the coaches was,

00:25:19.964 --> 00:25:22.008
if you haven't been
to the mountaintop...

00:25:24.343 --> 00:25:27.263
My dad's like,
"I've got to keep Shaq happy."

00:25:27.463 --> 00:25:30.975
He was gonna find
whatever it took

00:25:31.175 --> 00:25:32.693
to make Shaq successful

00:25:32.893 --> 00:25:36.147
and take him back
to the promised land.

00:25:36.347 --> 00:25:37.073
I was sitting in my office,

00:25:37.273 --> 00:25:38.649
and I get a call
from Jerry Buss.

00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:42.445
He said, "I just let Del go."

00:25:42.645 --> 00:25:44.697
And I'm-whoa.

00:25:45.698 --> 00:25:47.199
He was my friend.

00:25:48.659 --> 00:25:50.248
West is coming
into the room, guys.

00:25:50.448 --> 00:25:51.838
We just feel
at this point in time

00:25:52.038 --> 00:25:54.999
that, um, uh, we're not going
in the right direction.

00:25:55.199 --> 00:25:57.552
We felt a coaching change
was necessary.

00:25:57.752 --> 00:26:01.764
I was surprised when I was
let go, as a matter of fact.

00:26:01.964 --> 00:26:05.676
This is being like a guy having
three bad days on the market

00:26:05.876 --> 00:26:07.270
and selling everything.

00:26:07.470 --> 00:26:08.438
Doesn't seem fair.

00:26:08.638 --> 00:26:10.389
Well, I don't care
about fair.

00:26:10.589 --> 00:26:11.941
It's just not sensible.

00:26:12.141 --> 00:26:15.436
Head coach, first
time we've ever said that,

00:26:15.636 --> 00:26:17.071
is Kurt Rambis.

00:26:17.271 --> 00:26:20.524
You know, this was
a very difficult season.

00:26:20.724 --> 00:26:21.409
I'm a young coach.

00:26:21.609 --> 00:26:23.202
I'm trying to deal
with all of this.

00:26:23.402 --> 00:26:28.032
And there was so much pressure
to win a championship.

00:26:28.232 --> 00:26:29.458
So that didn't really-

00:26:29.658 --> 00:26:32.749
You know,
bode well for me, either.

00:26:32.949 --> 00:26:35.854
We needed to be successful.

00:26:36.054 --> 00:26:38.759
There was a big financial crush

00:26:38.959 --> 00:26:41.587
because we were moving
into a new arena.

00:26:43.047 --> 00:26:45.424
Staples Center was gonna open,

00:26:45.624 --> 00:26:47.864
this era was gonna end.

00:26:48.064 --> 00:26:50.104
The Forum was gonna end.

00:26:50.304 --> 00:26:52.098
Halfway up
to the ceiling at the Forum

00:26:52.298 --> 00:26:53.232
here in Los Angeles.

00:26:53.432 --> 00:26:54.934
Lakers moving from our right
to our left.

00:26:55.134 --> 00:26:56.277
And the tip between...

00:26:56.477 --> 00:26:58.921
Dr. Buss,
let me ask you, first of all,

00:26:59.121 --> 00:27:01.365
why would you want
to buy the Forum?

00:27:01.565 --> 00:27:05.531
The Forum is a magnificent
piece of real estate.

00:27:05.731 --> 00:27:09.698
So it's a combination
of economics and, uh, fun.

00:27:11.117 --> 00:27:13.044
The Forum was his home.

00:27:13.244 --> 00:27:16.872
And he loved that building,
he really did.

00:27:17.072 --> 00:27:18.090
I didn't want to go.

00:27:18.290 --> 00:27:20.259
I don't think anybody
wanted to go, really.

00:27:20.459 --> 00:27:23.546
It was just kind of like
a mom-and-pop operation.

00:27:23.746 --> 00:27:25.965
I mean, everybody there
knew everybody else.

00:27:26.165 --> 00:27:27.225
All the employees
at the Forum,

00:27:27.425 --> 00:27:30.761
all the ushers, everybody,
we were all family basically.

00:27:30.961 --> 00:27:33.439
But, uh, the Forum
was getting older,

00:27:33.639 --> 00:27:37.226
and he was worried about that
it was going to cost him money

00:27:37.426 --> 00:27:39.019
to keep the maintenance up.

00:27:40.938 --> 00:27:44.316
You're watching
the Detroit Pistons opening up

00:27:44.516 --> 00:27:47.507
the Palace in Auburn Hills-

00:27:47.707 --> 00:27:50.498
luxury seating and suites.

00:27:50.698 --> 00:27:54.160
All these things that we just
couldn't do at the Forum.

00:27:54.360 --> 00:27:57.058
We didn't have the space.

00:27:57.258 --> 00:27:59.757
So the world was changing,

00:27:59.957 --> 00:28:04.420
and my dad wasn't interested
in building a new arena.

00:28:04.620 --> 00:28:06.681
He didn't want
to take on that task.

00:28:06.881 --> 00:28:09.633
And there was just
not enough money to do it.

00:28:11.135 --> 00:28:13.641
My dad sold the Kings in 1987.

00:28:13.841 --> 00:28:15.995
And the new owner sold
the team

00:28:16.195 --> 00:28:18.150
to Phil Anschutz in the '90s.

00:28:18.350 --> 00:28:22.317
And he was looking
to build an arena in LA.

00:28:22.517 --> 00:28:25.881
Well, I'd never met, uh,
Dr. Buss before.

00:28:26.081 --> 00:28:29.445
We had only had, I think,
two meetings

00:28:29.645 --> 00:28:32.823
before we consummated
the deal.

00:28:33.023 --> 00:28:34.292
And Phil said,

00:28:34.492 --> 00:28:37.624
"I'm taking a lot of risk
to build this arena.

00:28:37.824 --> 00:28:40.956
"Your team is going to benefit
and go up in value,

00:28:41.156 --> 00:28:44.093
and I should get a piece
of your upside."

00:28:44.293 --> 00:28:47.379
My dad had to basically
sell a piece of the team,

00:28:47.579 --> 00:28:48.639
which he didn't want to do.

00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:51.967
I wanted to buy more
of the Lakers,

00:28:52.167 --> 00:28:54.353
and he wanted to sell me less.

00:28:54.553 --> 00:28:58.816
But like much of life,
all things are compromises.

00:28:59.016 --> 00:29:03.646
And we knew that when we came
to Staples that this was now,

00:29:03.846 --> 00:29:07.283
uh, entering into
the corporate century.

00:29:07.483 --> 00:29:10.694
My dad made an agreement
that the Lakers would

00:29:10.894 --> 00:29:12.842
move into that new arena

00:29:13.042 --> 00:29:14.990
in downtown Los Angeles.

00:29:16.242 --> 00:29:21.130
20 years ago,
downtown LA was very sad.

00:29:21.330 --> 00:29:26.752
I rarely went downtown.
Maybe once or twice a year.

00:29:26.952 --> 00:29:27.887
- Wasn't very pretty.

00:29:28.087 --> 00:29:30.464
And it wasn't someplace
you'd like to walk alone.

00:29:30.664 --> 00:29:32.892
Well, frankly, it still isn't.

00:29:33.092 --> 00:29:36.637
It was an adult dose.
Be careful where you walk.

00:29:36.837 --> 00:29:39.557
Be in good company
and watch your back.

00:29:39.757 --> 00:29:41.517
Our season ticket
holders were,

00:29:41.717 --> 00:29:43.277
"I don't want
to drive downtown.

00:29:43.477 --> 00:29:46.981
Nobody goes downtown.
It's too dangerous."

00:29:48.190 --> 00:29:50.776
Now you're talking
about a lot more risk,

00:29:50.976 --> 00:29:52.945
a lot more money
that could be lost.

00:29:56.448 --> 00:30:00.661
As we got closer and closer
to Staples Center opening,

00:30:00.861 --> 00:30:02.797
there was just
a lot of anxiety

00:30:02.997 --> 00:30:04.982
about what the future
was gonna hold.

00:30:05.182 --> 00:30:06.967
Jerry Buss tells me
all the time

00:30:07.167 --> 00:30:09.387
that he wants
a championship-caliber team.

00:30:09.587 --> 00:30:13.841
He made a big
investment in Shaq and Kobe

00:30:14.041 --> 00:30:15.059
right out of high school.

00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:18.554
Did we miscalculate
on what he's gonna be?

00:30:18.754 --> 00:30:21.807
And you know,
it just wasn't working.

00:30:27.104 --> 00:30:29.402
There was no longer
a reason for me

00:30:29.602 --> 00:30:31.900
to be general manager
of the Forum,

00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:34.245
and my dad gave me the title

00:30:34.445 --> 00:30:37.781
executive vice president
of business operations.

00:30:37.981 --> 00:30:40.576
That meant that
I was an executive

00:30:40.776 --> 00:30:43.495
on the Lakers side of things.

00:30:45.664 --> 00:30:48.817
You know, I wasn't aware
of any hard feelings

00:30:49.017 --> 00:30:51.971
from my siblings when
I moved in that position.

00:30:52.171 --> 00:30:56.759
That was something that my dad
had been grooming me towards.

00:30:56.959 --> 00:30:57.893
I've learned from the best,

00:30:58.093 --> 00:31:01.639
and that gives instant
recognition and respect.

00:31:03.891 --> 00:31:05.651
I, like,
was at the office every day,

00:31:05.851 --> 00:31:07.961
and that wasn't something
that either of them

00:31:08.161 --> 00:31:10.272
really wanted to be
at the office every day.

00:31:11.649 --> 00:31:13.734
I mean,
I was proud of my sister

00:31:13.934 --> 00:31:16.454
taking over the Laker job.

00:31:16.654 --> 00:31:20.032
And I was proud to be
involved in women's sports.

00:31:20.232 --> 00:31:22.117
During the building
of the Staples Center,

00:31:22.317 --> 00:31:23.627
I was excited about it,

00:31:23.827 --> 00:31:26.521
but it was bittersweet
at that time.

00:31:26.721 --> 00:31:29.416
The Lakers and Kings
were asked to go

00:31:29.616 --> 00:31:32.023
to the Staples Center

00:31:32.223 --> 00:31:34.630
and the Sparks were not.

00:31:35.690 --> 00:31:36.824
- It has been well-documented,

00:31:37.424 --> 00:31:39.393
a tumultuous year
for the Laker organization.

00:31:39.593 --> 00:31:42.555
The firing of coach Del Harris
12 games into the season

00:31:42.955 --> 00:31:45.466
and now, finally,
the playoffs have arrived

00:31:45.666 --> 00:31:48.177
for a team that had
such high expectations

00:31:48.377 --> 00:31:50.262
at the beginning of the year.

00:31:52.890 --> 00:31:55.192
San Antonio sweeps.

00:31:55.392 --> 00:31:56.443
What does the future hold

00:31:56.643 --> 00:31:59.504
for the Lakers
and for Kurt Rambis?

00:31:59.704 --> 00:32:02.366
I already had a grace period.

00:32:02.566 --> 00:32:05.361
We know you're not gonna
win this year-you're close.

00:32:05.561 --> 00:32:08.697
But around the third
time getting swept,

00:32:08.897 --> 00:32:09.957
now it's time to make moves.

00:32:10.157 --> 00:32:13.827
And then finally,
I went upstairs and said, uh,

00:32:14.027 --> 00:32:16.914
"Hey, man,
Phil Jackson is available."

00:32:31.203 --> 00:32:33.138
In June of that year,

00:32:33.338 --> 00:32:36.846
I was in Montana
to spend my summer.

00:32:37.046 --> 00:32:40.354
From having played
14 years in the NBA,

00:32:40.554 --> 00:32:43.849
I just know that you spend
a lot of time on the road,

00:32:44.049 --> 00:32:45.901
a lot of time away from family.

00:32:46.101 --> 00:32:49.605
and you needed to have
a spot to recreate.

00:32:53.333 --> 00:32:54.618
I was a fly fisherman,

00:32:54.818 --> 00:32:57.220
did a lot
of motorcycle riding,

00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:59.623
all stuff
that really coordinated

00:32:59.823 --> 00:33:03.035
with the great outdoors,
the Rocky Mountains.

00:33:04.494 --> 00:33:08.040
- We had to "interview" Phil.

00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:09.883
They sent me out.

00:33:10.083 --> 00:33:11.218
Phil said, "Before you come in,

00:33:11.418 --> 00:33:13.545
I need you to move this log
out the lake."

00:33:15.672 --> 00:33:17.641
And I'm saying to myself,

00:33:17.841 --> 00:33:19.217
"I'm not moving
no * log

00:33:19.417 --> 00:33:20.728
out no * lake."

00:33:20.928 --> 00:33:23.226
And then I said,
"It's a test, I know."

00:33:23.426 --> 00:33:25.524
'Cause it's stuff
my father used to do.

00:33:25.724 --> 00:33:29.061
And Phil Jackson is
a white version of my father.

00:33:29.261 --> 00:33:30.896
My father was
a drill sergeant.

00:33:31.096 --> 00:33:32.656
He demanded respect.

00:33:32.856 --> 00:33:35.025
Because Phil had
a great rأ©sumأ©,

00:33:35.225 --> 00:33:37.494
he also demanded respect.

00:33:37.694 --> 00:33:39.246
I always felt like
Shaq had so many

00:33:39.446 --> 00:33:44.534
other things going on,
films, music, appearances,

00:33:44.734 --> 00:33:47.287
that basketball wasn't
his first priority.

00:33:47.487 --> 00:33:49.673
And I just encouraged him
to really,

00:33:49.873 --> 00:33:52.505
you know, give basketball
your full attention.

00:33:52.705 --> 00:33:55.151
You say don't go out,
no more clubs for me.

00:33:55.351 --> 00:33:57.798
You say no more movies,
no more movies for me.

00:33:57.998 --> 00:34:01.009
No more rapping,
no more nothing for me.

00:34:01.209 --> 00:34:02.781
What do you want me to do?

00:34:02.981 --> 00:34:04.354
All right, I'm doing it.

00:34:04.554 --> 00:34:06.765
Shaq, go move the log
in the cold-* water.

00:34:06.965 --> 00:34:08.558
Yes, sir.

00:34:10.560 --> 00:34:11.862
And he gives me a towel.

00:34:12.062 --> 00:34:14.439
He says, "Hey, go in here
and get changed."

00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:15.941
I open the door...

00:34:19.111 --> 00:34:23.323
And the sun is hitting
these gold balls perfectly.

00:34:23.523 --> 00:34:25.826
It was like...

00:34:28.245 --> 00:34:32.165
I felt like King Arthur
who just passed his last test

00:34:32.365 --> 00:34:33.759
and he's about
to become a knight.

00:34:33.959 --> 00:34:36.878
And then he said,
"If you listen to me,

00:34:37.078 --> 00:34:38.931
I'll make you MVP this year."

00:34:39.131 --> 00:34:41.466
So I shake his hand and say,
"Deal."

00:34:43.218 --> 00:34:44.978
I was meeting with my dad.

00:34:45.178 --> 00:34:47.264
You know, he said,
"Well, we can get Phil,

00:34:47.464 --> 00:34:48.482
but he's gonna cost us."

00:34:48.682 --> 00:34:50.484
And I said,
"Well, you know the numbers.

00:34:50.684 --> 00:34:52.477
"And you get this,
you've got a hell of a chance

00:34:52.677 --> 00:34:54.071
of winning some championships."

00:34:54.271 --> 00:34:58.075
After an agreement was made,
Dr. Buss said,

00:34:58.275 --> 00:35:01.403
"Really, all I want is
to win another championship."

00:35:01.603 --> 00:35:02.788
I said, "Well, I came here

00:35:02.988 --> 00:35:05.699
because I think we can win
more than one championship."

00:35:05.899 --> 00:35:07.784
In six of the last
eight NBA Finals,

00:35:07.984 --> 00:35:09.870
Phil Jackson was on
the winning sideline

00:35:10.070 --> 00:35:11.421
as coach of the Chicago Bulls.

00:35:11.621 --> 00:35:14.065
Today, Jackson is back
in the spotlight,

00:35:14.265 --> 00:35:16.510
named head coach
of the Los Angeles Lakers.

00:35:16.710 --> 00:35:18.420
They did the press
conference in the same room

00:35:18.620 --> 00:35:20.255
where they had
the Golden Globes Awards.

00:35:20.455 --> 00:35:22.349
Welcome to Hollywood.

00:35:22.549 --> 00:35:25.018
And Phil seemed to embrace it.

00:35:25.218 --> 00:35:27.646
This is a team that,
uh, is talented.

00:35:27.846 --> 00:35:31.099
It's young, it's on the verge.
It's been on the verge.

00:35:31.299 --> 00:35:33.810
And yet, it hasn't quite
gotten over the top.

00:35:34.010 --> 00:35:35.895
The arrival
of Phil Jackson meant

00:35:36.095 --> 00:35:37.781
that there were
no more excuses.

00:35:37.981 --> 00:35:42.194
Something goes awry, they're
not gonna fire the coach.

00:35:42.394 --> 00:35:44.571
There's gonna be changes
made to the roster.

00:35:44.771 --> 00:35:46.760
It upped the pressure
on Kobe and Shaq.

00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.981
Shaq says he wants
to win a championship.

00:35:49.181 --> 00:35:51.203
Mm-hmm.
- That's what he said.

00:35:51.403 --> 00:35:52.546
Kobe says the same thing.

00:35:52.746 --> 00:35:54.314
Well, okay,
we're gonna find out

00:35:54.514 --> 00:35:55.883
if all that's true right now.

00:35:56.083 --> 00:35:57.375
I'm gonna ask them
to get in the best shape

00:35:57.575 --> 00:35:58.919
they can be in,
because come October,

00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:00.253
they're gonna be working.

00:36:02.422 --> 00:36:04.115
At the press conference,

00:36:04.315 --> 00:36:05.809
I'm standing next to Magic,

00:36:06.009 --> 00:36:08.762
and you literally see me
roll my eyes

00:36:08.962 --> 00:36:10.480
at like, "Oh, my gosh,

00:36:10.680 --> 00:36:13.350
this guy is gonna bring
a circus to town."

00:36:13.550 --> 00:36:14.943
What are we doing?

00:36:15.143 --> 00:36:16.378
- A village coming off a river,

00:36:16.578 --> 00:36:17.950
and we got
to the fishing site-

00:36:18.150 --> 00:36:19.323
I already was worried

00:36:19.523 --> 00:36:21.733
that Phil was gonna
be a bigger personality

00:36:21.933 --> 00:36:23.035
than Shaq or Kobe.

00:36:23.235 --> 00:36:26.488
And you know, now we're
at the Beverly Hills Hotel

00:36:26.688 --> 00:36:29.750
doing these special
press conferences.

00:36:29.950 --> 00:36:33.829
And of course, Phil's,
like, man of the hour.

00:36:34.029 --> 00:36:36.206
There was no way
I was gonna, like,

00:36:36.406 --> 00:36:39.259
wait in line to meet him.

00:36:39.459 --> 00:36:42.466
So I finally met him
in September

00:36:42.666 --> 00:36:45.474
in Vancouver
at the league meeting.

00:36:45.674 --> 00:36:47.717
It was raining
in Vancouver, of course,

00:36:47.917 --> 00:36:49.394
the end of September.

00:36:49.594 --> 00:36:51.996
I got to the airport,
and Jeanie was sitting

00:36:52.196 --> 00:36:54.278
where my plane was
supposed to take off.

00:36:54.478 --> 00:36:56.560
I was like,
"Are you on this flight?"

00:36:56.760 --> 00:36:58.070
And she said, "No, uh,

00:36:58.270 --> 00:36:59.404
"I was on the flight
before this,

00:36:59.604 --> 00:37:01.965
"but that was canceled
because of the rain.

00:37:02.165 --> 00:37:04.526
And they're putting us
all on the same plane."

00:37:04.726 --> 00:37:05.827
I said, "Okay.

00:37:06.027 --> 00:37:07.737
Are you in first class?
We can sit together."

00:37:07.937 --> 00:37:10.824
"No, I ride in coach."

00:37:13.410 --> 00:37:15.328
So I was really impressed
by that, because I said,

00:37:15.528 --> 00:37:17.714
okay, this is something
entirely different.

00:37:17.914 --> 00:37:21.418
And you know, of course,
I'm reading "People" magazine.

00:37:21.618 --> 00:37:22.344
And he's like...

00:37:22.544 --> 00:37:23.971
"What are you reading?"

00:37:24.171 --> 00:37:25.555
And I was embarrassed
that I'm, like,

00:37:25.755 --> 00:37:29.284
reading just, you know,
a regular old magazine.

00:37:29.484 --> 00:37:33.013
So we had a conversation
for an hour probably.

00:37:33.213 --> 00:37:34.347
The plane was delayed.

00:37:39.603 --> 00:37:41.822
- When I heard his voice,

00:37:42.022 --> 00:37:44.357
I don't know what it was
about his voice,

00:37:44.557 --> 00:37:46.076
but it just-

00:37:46.276 --> 00:37:50.055
it just, you know,
stood me up straight

00:37:50.255 --> 00:37:53.834
like this jolt of electricity
or, you know,

00:37:54.034 --> 00:37:58.205
when people talk about,
like, love at first sight.

00:37:58.405 --> 00:38:01.208
I just fell for him hard.

00:38:04.044 --> 00:38:05.512
The next workweek,

00:38:05.712 --> 00:38:07.556
we were in the office
together.

00:38:07.756 --> 00:38:10.471
She sent over a piece of her
birthday cake to my office.

00:38:10.671 --> 00:38:12.783
And so I dropped by and
thanked her for it and said,

00:38:12.983 --> 00:38:15.096
you know, "You want to go
out to dinner tonight?"

00:38:15.296 --> 00:38:16.440
We did.

00:38:16.640 --> 00:38:18.150
- At dinner that night,

00:38:18.350 --> 00:38:23.271
we kind of talked about our-
the spark between us.

00:38:25.482 --> 00:38:27.592
You know,
I was establishing myself

00:38:27.792 --> 00:38:29.903
as a, you know,
individual person,

00:38:30.103 --> 00:38:32.581
as a single man again.

00:38:32.781 --> 00:38:37.502
I've got five children.
I've been married twice.

00:38:37.702 --> 00:38:40.747
You know, I'm coming out of
a relationship for 25 years.

00:38:40.947 --> 00:38:43.008
So we talked
a little bit about that.

00:38:43.208 --> 00:38:46.378
I told him that I wanted
to live in truth.

00:38:46.578 --> 00:38:48.764
That was very different for me

00:38:48.964 --> 00:38:52.392
in terms of the way
I was brought up.

00:38:52.592 --> 00:38:54.719
She was like,
"My dad kind of left us

00:38:54.919 --> 00:38:57.606
"when I was seven, moved out.

00:38:57.806 --> 00:38:59.724
"And when I went to school,
I told all the kids

00:38:59.924 --> 00:39:01.318
that my dad had died."

00:39:01.518 --> 00:39:04.066
I got tired of my friends

00:39:04.266 --> 00:39:06.815
asking where my dad was.

00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:12.654
Being real, like,
about your emotions,

00:39:12.854 --> 00:39:17.709
that's what
attracted Phil to me.

00:39:17.909 --> 00:39:21.162
You know, for what I thought
he was gonna be

00:39:21.362 --> 00:39:24.508
to what he was
was so different.

00:39:24.708 --> 00:39:28.003
I thought he was gonna
be high demanding,

00:39:28.203 --> 00:39:31.598
consumed by winning.

00:39:31.798 --> 00:39:33.475
He is consumed by winning,

00:39:33.675 --> 00:39:36.311
but he also knows
he's consumed by winning

00:39:36.511 --> 00:39:39.806
and is consumed with having
a balance in his life.

00:39:40.006 --> 00:39:41.441
And not only for himself,

00:39:41.641 --> 00:39:44.769
but for the people
surrounding him.

00:39:48.148 --> 00:39:51.568
I said, "You know, if we are
gonna see each other,

00:39:51.768 --> 00:39:54.404
"I'm not gonna do it
behind anyone's back.

00:39:54.604 --> 00:39:56.739
It has to come
with full disclosure."

00:39:56.939 --> 00:40:00.034
And so we had to go
through that process

00:40:00.234 --> 00:40:03.330
of letting people know,
which was tough.

00:40:05.582 --> 00:40:07.092
I think my dad called me.

00:40:07.292 --> 00:40:10.378
He says, "You're not gonna
believe who Jeanie's dating."

00:40:10.578 --> 00:40:11.346
I said, "Well, who?"

00:40:11.546 --> 00:40:14.303
You know,
and I'm thinking Wayne Gretzky.

00:40:14.503 --> 00:40:17.260
Or, you know,
something like that.

00:40:17.460 --> 00:40:18.595
He goes, "No. Phil."

00:40:22.307 --> 00:40:25.293
I go, "Are you kidding me?
Phil-Phil?"

00:40:25.493 --> 00:40:27.616
And he goes, "Yes. Phil-Phil."

00:40:27.816 --> 00:40:29.862
And that was the conversation.

00:40:30.062 --> 00:40:32.108
- I remember when she told me,

00:40:32.308 --> 00:40:33.201
and it was almost like,

00:40:33.401 --> 00:40:34.995
"Oh, my gosh.
Are you kidding me?"

00:40:35.195 --> 00:40:37.405
Like "Ooh, you're dating
that guy?" you know?

00:40:37.605 --> 00:40:39.499
He was definitely older.

00:40:39.699 --> 00:40:43.787
I think my father
was a little, uh,

00:40:43.987 --> 00:40:45.547
taken back by it.

00:40:45.747 --> 00:40:47.624
Do you think
that the age difference

00:40:47.824 --> 00:40:48.750
bothered him at all?

00:40:49.876 --> 00:40:51.795
He was living
that age difference.

00:40:53.338 --> 00:40:57.342
He just felt that there was
a conflict of interest now.

00:40:57.542 --> 00:40:59.469
Anything that he talked
to Phil about

00:40:59.669 --> 00:41:00.478
was gonna get to Jeanie.

00:41:00.678 --> 00:41:02.222
Anything that he talked
to Jeanie about

00:41:02.422 --> 00:41:03.356
was gonna get to Phil.

00:41:03.556 --> 00:41:07.185
So now he had to choose
his words carefully,

00:41:07.385 --> 00:41:10.113
and I don't think
he liked that.

00:41:10.313 --> 00:41:12.590
How do you react
when they give him heat

00:41:12.790 --> 00:41:15.068
for being in love
with the boss's daughter?

00:41:16.444 --> 00:41:18.330
We're not Brad Pitt
and Jennifer Aniston.

00:41:18.530 --> 00:41:22.325
You know, we're two adults
who have lived long lives

00:41:22.525 --> 00:41:23.501
and had experiences.

00:41:23.701 --> 00:41:26.037
I really don't understand
the fascination.

00:41:26.237 --> 00:41:28.340
- It did bug Jerry West.

00:41:28.540 --> 00:41:29.841
You know,
particularly with Jeanie,

00:41:30.041 --> 00:41:32.840
who now was getting
more involved with the team,

00:41:33.040 --> 00:41:36.133
my concern in a small
organization like that,

00:41:36.333 --> 00:41:39.426
was that gonna permeate
and divide people?

00:41:39.626 --> 00:41:41.886
Didn't like it.
Did not like it.

00:41:47.725 --> 00:41:50.904
I come down to LA,
'99-2000 season.

00:41:51.104 --> 00:41:54.315
By that time, I was 11 years
or so in the league.

00:41:54.515 --> 00:41:57.902
And I had played with Shaq
in Orlando.

00:41:58.102 --> 00:41:59.946
But Phil was different.

00:42:00.146 --> 00:42:01.790
In that first year in LA,

00:42:01.990 --> 00:42:05.702
I think all of us collectively
as a team were like,

00:42:05.902 --> 00:42:07.504
"This dude is
a little strange.

00:42:07.704 --> 00:42:10.582
"Man, what does all this
stuff that he has us doing

00:42:10.782 --> 00:42:11.916
have to do with basketball?"

00:42:15.879 --> 00:42:16.972
- He comes in the room,

00:42:17.172 --> 00:42:19.007
and all of a sudden,
we smelling this stuff.

00:42:19.207 --> 00:42:20.425
We're like, "What the-
what is the-

00:42:20.625 --> 00:42:22.435
someone smoking weed?"

00:42:22.635 --> 00:42:24.471
He's going to everybody's
locker and, like,

00:42:24.671 --> 00:42:26.431
he's, like, trying to,
you know,

00:42:26.631 --> 00:42:27.911
get out the demons and stuff.

00:42:28.111 --> 00:42:29.192
And one last question.

00:42:29.392 --> 00:42:30.694
Zen master, tell me about that.

00:42:30.894 --> 00:42:32.353
Well it's just
something I taught

00:42:32.553 --> 00:42:33.655
these, uh, players about.

00:42:33.855 --> 00:42:36.032
Uh, you know,
learning how to meditate,

00:42:36.232 --> 00:42:39.194
learning how to put
their mind, uh, at ease.

00:42:39.394 --> 00:42:42.113
- I'm looking at him like...

00:42:42.313 --> 00:42:43.290
"Stop talking back.

00:42:43.490 --> 00:42:45.617
Michael and Scottie
did the meditation."

00:42:45.817 --> 00:42:47.744
A'ight.
They did it, I'ma do it.

00:42:47.944 --> 00:42:49.671
Every day he come in
with the sage,

00:42:49.871 --> 00:42:51.998
and we got a chance
to meditate before practice.

00:42:52.198 --> 00:42:54.050
Go to a more quiet place.

00:42:54.250 --> 00:42:55.510
It was my rookie year,

00:42:55.710 --> 00:42:58.013
and I had the worst person
sitting behind me.

00:42:58.213 --> 00:43:00.782
Couldn't hold attention
for more than five minutes.

00:43:00.982 --> 00:43:03.438
And that's Shaq, kicking
my chair the whole time.

00:43:03.638 --> 00:43:06.095
We sat there and hummed
for about a half hour.

00:43:06.295 --> 00:43:08.064
And you thought to yourself?

00:43:08.264 --> 00:43:09.941
Oh, this not too bad.

00:43:10.141 --> 00:43:11.151
At least we're not floating.

00:43:11.351 --> 00:43:13.086
Zen is something
that brings awareness,

00:43:13.286 --> 00:43:15.021
and it's very much
a part of what I believe

00:43:15.221 --> 00:43:16.614
is the game's important key.

00:43:16.814 --> 00:43:19.150
And if you're aware out there,
it really helps your team.

00:43:19.350 --> 00:43:21.328
Understanding
and learning meditation

00:43:21.528 --> 00:43:24.280
helped us to slow ourselves
down mentally,

00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:26.199
emotionally, psychologically.

00:43:29.661 --> 00:43:31.838
You know, Phil had this
thing when he came in.

00:43:32.038 --> 00:43:35.959
He'd interview all the players,
and he'd make them read books.

00:43:36.159 --> 00:43:37.844
What kind of stuff
would he bring in, Shaq?

00:43:38.044 --> 00:43:42.298
He bought me a book, uh,
by a guy named Nietzsche.

00:43:42.498 --> 00:43:43.183
Nietzsche.
- Really?

00:43:43.383 --> 00:43:45.143
Yeah.

00:43:45.343 --> 00:43:47.262
Nietzsche wrote a book
called, uh, "Superman."

00:43:47.462 --> 00:43:48.521
But I didn't want
to read about myself,

00:43:48.721 --> 00:43:52.442
so you know, I didn't read it.

00:43:52.642 --> 00:43:55.186
By interviewing us
and by handing out the books,

00:43:55.386 --> 00:43:57.521
he knows what makes us go.

00:43:57.721 --> 00:43:59.657
And if you challenge us,

00:43:59.857 --> 00:44:01.484
most of the time, we step up.

00:44:04.487 --> 00:44:05.580
The opening of Staples

00:44:05.780 --> 00:44:06.956
for the Los Angeles Lakers,

00:44:07.156 --> 00:44:09.579
and everybody excited
about this new facility

00:44:09.779 --> 00:44:12.003
and hoping that they'll
get it with a win.

00:44:12.203 --> 00:44:14.581
If it goes,
it'll go off the fingertips.

00:44:14.781 --> 00:44:15.882
You were young.

00:44:16.082 --> 00:44:18.301
So I think that meditation

00:44:18.501 --> 00:44:21.671
just started to help us
connect with each other.

00:44:27.635 --> 00:44:30.772
We ran off 16 games in a row,

00:44:30.972 --> 00:44:33.066
and then we won 19 games
in a row.

00:44:33.266 --> 00:44:37.520
And everybody started to kind
of look at each other and say,

00:44:37.720 --> 00:44:39.272
"This is working."

00:44:40.732 --> 00:44:44.235
We quickly realized
not only did we have

00:44:44.435 --> 00:44:46.037
to apply meditation and use it

00:44:46.237 --> 00:44:49.616
for the basketball
side of things,

00:44:49.816 --> 00:44:52.869
but also in dealing with Kobe.

00:44:55.288 --> 00:44:58.341
With Kobe, he made a choice.

00:44:58.541 --> 00:45:02.971
And the choice was
to go it alone.

00:45:03.171 --> 00:45:04.881
I do know on the road,
most of the time,

00:45:05.081 --> 00:45:06.182
he spends it in his room.

00:45:06.382 --> 00:45:07.767
And most of the time,
he asks us

00:45:07.967 --> 00:45:10.136
for the tape of the game
we played the night before,

00:45:10.336 --> 00:45:11.721
the opponent we're playing
the next night.

00:45:11.921 --> 00:45:13.410
You know,
I would study the game.

00:45:13.610 --> 00:45:14.899
I would think
about our opponents.

00:45:15.099 --> 00:45:17.485
And, uh, not every player
was doing that.

00:45:17.685 --> 00:45:20.271
I said to him, you know,
some of the players came to me

00:45:20.471 --> 00:45:22.023
and said, you know,
you don't even want to go down

00:45:22.223 --> 00:45:24.692
and have, you know,
a bite to eat with him.

00:45:24.892 --> 00:45:26.944
- Kobe was extremely quiet.

00:45:27.144 --> 00:45:29.197
Um, sat in the back of the bus.

00:45:29.397 --> 00:45:31.166
- He has on headphones.

00:45:31.366 --> 00:45:33.810
Bobbing his head like
he's listening to music,

00:45:34.010 --> 00:45:36.454
like he's not paying attention
to anybody.

00:45:36.654 --> 00:45:37.630
I go and sit next to him,

00:45:37.830 --> 00:45:39.424
there's nothing
in the headphones.

00:45:39.624 --> 00:45:42.293
He just wants to hear
what these guys are saying.

00:45:42.493 --> 00:45:44.637
At times it felt like,
you know,

00:45:44.837 --> 00:45:46.631
what, he doesn't want
to be a part of this?

00:45:46.831 --> 00:45:48.057
Or he feels like he's too good

00:45:48.257 --> 00:45:50.226
to, you know,
to hang out with the fellas?

00:45:50.426 --> 00:45:52.370
Kobe Bryant's
coming in the ball game.

00:45:52.570 --> 00:45:54.359
That's what all
the noise is about.

00:45:54.559 --> 00:45:56.349
He saw himself as a star.

00:46:02.563 --> 00:46:04.616
And the coach
is all over Kobe.

00:46:04.816 --> 00:46:08.027
He's saying, I want to be the
best basketball player ever.

00:46:08.227 --> 00:46:11.823
And if I'm restricted
and not scoring points,

00:46:12.023 --> 00:46:14.876
that's not
how I'm gonna be seen.

00:46:15.076 --> 00:46:17.787
Sometimes, players have
to make a sacrifice

00:46:17.987 --> 00:46:19.547
for the betterment of the team.

00:46:19.747 --> 00:46:22.250
We wanted, as a group,
to kind of address

00:46:22.450 --> 00:46:24.085
Kobe being selfish
on the court.

00:46:24.285 --> 00:46:25.720
Something wasn't right.

00:46:25.920 --> 00:46:27.672
Something wasn't right.
I mean, I go to practice,

00:46:27.872 --> 00:46:30.258
and I feel
a little uncomfortable.

00:46:30.458 --> 00:46:32.185
What the-what's this about?

00:46:32.385 --> 00:46:35.559
The mood in
the locker room was not good.

00:46:35.759 --> 00:46:38.733
So I asked the ball boys,
the trainers,

00:46:38.933 --> 00:46:42.103
Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak,
to leave the room.

00:46:42.303 --> 00:46:44.989
I want to talk
to these players alone.

00:46:45.189 --> 00:46:47.734
And then I started out on,
what's going on out there?

00:46:47.934 --> 00:46:49.819
What's going on with you guys?

00:46:50.019 --> 00:46:51.988
They didn't want to talk.

00:46:52.188 --> 00:46:53.957
Rick Fox finally said,

00:46:54.157 --> 00:46:55.416
"You know, we've had trouble
with Kobe.

00:46:55.616 --> 00:46:59.291
Kobe sometimes gets
into his individual act."

00:46:59.491 --> 00:47:02.375
Anything that doesn't
drive the team agenda,

00:47:02.575 --> 00:47:05.460
like, I have to cut out
like it's cancer.

00:47:05.660 --> 00:47:07.545
And so my communication
I think was

00:47:07.745 --> 00:47:09.463
a little probably
more emotional

00:47:09.663 --> 00:47:11.182
than people expected it to be.

00:47:11.382 --> 00:47:13.685
Rick got so emotional,
I think he cried,

00:47:13.885 --> 00:47:15.720
and he just kind of, like,
went in and just like,

00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:17.388
"That's bull, you know,
you don't trust us.

00:47:17.588 --> 00:47:18.565
You know, we're your brothers."

00:47:18.765 --> 00:47:22.351
If you don't trust us,
we're not gonna trust you.

00:47:22.551 --> 00:47:24.487
We're not gonna
give you the ball.

00:47:24.687 --> 00:47:26.197
The true definition
of a great player

00:47:26.397 --> 00:47:29.175
is one that makes players
around you better.

00:47:29.375 --> 00:47:32.153
You can't come in
doing that all by yourself,

00:47:32.353 --> 00:47:34.038
pissing everybody off.

00:47:34.238 --> 00:47:35.994
Because now
they don't want to play.

00:47:36.194 --> 00:47:37.890
And we can't
have that right now.

00:47:38.090 --> 00:47:39.786
So yeah, I said
what I had to say.

00:47:39.986 --> 00:47:41.254
And I meant it.

00:47:41.454 --> 00:47:43.168
That was the moment
when everybody

00:47:43.368 --> 00:47:44.882
got some stuff
off their chest.

00:47:45.082 --> 00:47:46.959
And when your teammates
sit back and tell you

00:47:47.159 --> 00:47:49.512
how they view you, are you able

00:47:49.712 --> 00:47:52.390
to absorb that
and understand that?

00:47:52.590 --> 00:47:55.885
It was about them thinking
I was out for myself

00:47:56.085 --> 00:47:58.533
and I was being selfish,
and, um,

00:47:58.733 --> 00:48:00.982
which was totally not the case.

00:48:01.182 --> 00:48:03.601
I talked to Jerry West
about it at the time.

00:48:03.801 --> 00:48:05.612
He said, you know,
Kobe doesn't really

00:48:05.812 --> 00:48:09.194
want to win if he wants it
to be about him.

00:48:09.394 --> 00:48:12.777
You know, maybe it'd be best
to move him on.

00:48:16.614 --> 00:48:19.784
I always say teams emerge
as championship contenders

00:48:19.984 --> 00:48:21.210
by December or January.

00:48:21.410 --> 00:48:23.579
Lakers were one
of those teams.

00:48:25.039 --> 00:48:26.165
They finished
with the best record

00:48:26.365 --> 00:48:27.216
in the league that year.

00:48:27.416 --> 00:48:30.194
But in the postseason,
we learned very early on

00:48:30.394 --> 00:48:33.172
that you can show things
in the regular season,

00:48:33.372 --> 00:48:35.424
and it's a whole
different story learning

00:48:35.624 --> 00:48:37.552
how to win a championship.

00:48:39.262 --> 00:48:41.597
Tonight, it's
the Portland Trail Blazers

00:48:41.797 --> 00:48:43.775
versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

00:48:43.975 --> 00:48:46.185
I just think, you know,
both teams are just gonna

00:48:46.385 --> 00:48:47.320
come out and lay it
on the line.

00:48:47.520 --> 00:48:49.401
I mean, I think
the pressure's on them

00:48:49.601 --> 00:48:51.482
because everybody
expected them to beat us

00:48:51.682 --> 00:48:53.576
in this series, uh,
so dominantly.

00:48:53.776 --> 00:48:57.029
Going into that game 7,
we were tied-

00:48:57.229 --> 00:48:58.706
series was tied 3-3.

00:48:58.906 --> 00:49:01.209
Game 7 against
Portland was so pivotal,

00:49:01.409 --> 00:49:03.749
because I think
if they don't win that game,

00:49:03.949 --> 00:49:06.289
it's possible Shaq
and Kobe get broken up.

00:49:06.489 --> 00:49:07.423
This thing is gonna be over

00:49:07.623 --> 00:49:09.258
before it even had
a chance to start.

00:49:09.458 --> 00:49:10.885
The Lakers
have to realize that

00:49:11.085 --> 00:49:14.213
they've got 12 minutes to play
with only a 13-point game.

00:49:14.413 --> 00:49:15.556
Not any more.

00:49:15.756 --> 00:49:18.342
Steve Smith hits
on the run and it's 15.

00:49:18.542 --> 00:49:20.186
- I was at that game, man,

00:49:20.386 --> 00:49:23.205
and we looked like
our dog just died.

00:49:23.405 --> 00:49:26.225
They were blowing us out.
I was so mad.

00:49:26.425 --> 00:49:27.568
I was so mad.

00:49:27.768 --> 00:49:30.692
I go, this is how
we're going down again?

00:49:30.892 --> 00:49:33.816
In game 7,
when you're down 15 points

00:49:34.016 --> 00:49:35.702
in the fourth quarter,

00:49:35.902 --> 00:49:38.779
when everything's
about to crumble away,

00:49:38.979 --> 00:49:41.073
Phil says what he says
every day.

00:49:41.273 --> 00:49:42.950
Go to your quiet place.

00:49:43.150 --> 00:49:44.827
He ain't calling no plays.

00:49:45.027 --> 00:49:46.129
Shut the hell up.

00:49:46.329 --> 00:49:48.631
Go to your quiet place.

00:49:48.831 --> 00:49:50.458
He used a little bit
of reverse psychology.

00:49:50.658 --> 00:49:51.926
"Oh, it's been a great year.

00:49:52.126 --> 00:49:53.970
"Knew you pussies
couldn't do it.

00:49:54.170 --> 00:49:56.464
"We'll win next year, but we're
not gonna win this year.

00:49:56.664 --> 00:49:57.515
Good job, guys."

00:49:57.715 --> 00:49:59.592
And then we looking
at each other like, what?

00:49:59.792 --> 00:50:00.601
When we was 13 down,

00:50:00.801 --> 00:50:02.303
I told my guys, look,
do or die.

00:50:02.503 --> 00:50:03.271
The time is now.

00:50:03.471 --> 00:50:04.705
We've been in this
position before,

00:50:04.905 --> 00:50:06.140
and we ain't never lost
three in a row.

00:50:06.340 --> 00:50:07.233
Let's play. Let's go.

00:50:07.433 --> 00:50:08.901
Just kind of like
trying to light a fire.

00:50:09.101 --> 00:50:11.520
You get this little spark,
and you begin to blow on it

00:50:11.720 --> 00:50:14.648
and say, come on,
come on, heat up.

00:50:14.848 --> 00:50:17.577
And, uh,
that's what began to happen.

00:50:17.777 --> 00:50:19.454
It was a whole game
of like, hey, man,

00:50:19.654 --> 00:50:23.115
I know you like to do this,
but I'm right there, dog.

00:50:23.315 --> 00:50:24.584
All right, I got you.

00:50:24.784 --> 00:50:27.374
Kobe's like, hey, Shaq,
instead of trying to shoot

00:50:27.574 --> 00:50:30.164
three or four jump hooks
over four or five people,

00:50:30.364 --> 00:50:31.215
I'm right here.

00:50:31.415 --> 00:50:32.633
All right, I got you, Kob.

00:50:32.833 --> 00:50:35.252
So I kept telling him,
and he kept saying, I got you.

00:50:35.452 --> 00:50:36.429
So right when he's-

00:50:36.629 --> 00:50:39.006
right when he's
crossed Scottie up,

00:50:39.206 --> 00:50:40.808
does he have me?

00:50:41.008 --> 00:50:43.219
Bryant to Shaq!

00:50:47.223 --> 00:50:48.708
I wasn't watching that moment.

00:50:48.908 --> 00:50:50.193
I was at
the *h game.

00:50:50.393 --> 00:50:52.979
I was in the crowd,
you understand me?

00:50:53.179 --> 00:50:54.739
We were so excited, so happy,

00:50:54.939 --> 00:50:56.491
we jumped out
our * seats.

00:50:56.691 --> 00:50:59.448
Kobe Bryant's
assist to Shaquille O'Neal

00:50:59.648 --> 00:51:02.405
makes it a 6-point
difference with 41...

00:51:02.605 --> 00:51:03.843
He could have took the shot.

00:51:04.043 --> 00:51:05.282
But he was like,
you know what?

00:51:05.482 --> 00:51:06.751
Big dog's there.

00:51:06.951 --> 00:51:09.370
That meant that
we were finally there.

00:51:09.570 --> 00:51:10.713
That moment
was so significant

00:51:10.913 --> 00:51:14.254
because that's when you knew
we had the game secured.

00:51:14.454 --> 00:51:17.595
We found something in that
eight, nine minute stretch

00:51:17.795 --> 00:51:22.800
that defined us for the next,
you know, three or four years.

00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:25.594
With 41.3 seconds left,

00:51:25.794 --> 00:51:28.189
LA has outscored Portland.

00:51:28.389 --> 00:51:32.893
And that's it-a huge comeback
in the fourth quarter.

00:51:33.093 --> 00:51:34.195
In order to achieve

00:51:34.395 --> 00:51:36.922
what they each want
to achieve,

00:51:37.122 --> 00:51:39.450
the two of them are connected.

00:51:39.650 --> 00:51:41.327
And there's no way
to separate that.

00:51:41.527 --> 00:51:43.913
Was this the ultimate test
for you all?

00:51:44.113 --> 00:51:46.082
Up to this point, this
has been the ultimate test.

00:51:46.282 --> 00:51:48.284
And I knew my teammate was
gonna step up for me tonight,

00:51:48.484 --> 00:51:50.169
because I had to step up
the last two games.

00:51:50.369 --> 00:51:52.538
These two guys are
working together this way,

00:51:52.738 --> 00:51:54.331
the rest of the league
has no chance.

00:51:57.293 --> 00:51:58.845
The Pacers-

00:51:59.045 --> 00:52:02.907
Reggie Miller,
Jalen Rose, Rik Smits-

00:52:03.107 --> 00:52:06.969
man, we knew we was
gonna dust them off.

00:52:07.169 --> 00:52:08.471
They was weak.

00:52:09.764 --> 00:52:10.982
Larry Bird says, "We know

00:52:11.182 --> 00:52:12.604
we can beat this team;
however,

00:52:12.804 --> 00:52:14.226
our confidence
isn't always there.

00:52:14.426 --> 00:52:15.528
It comes and goes.

00:52:15.728 --> 00:52:18.064
Tonight will set the tone
for the entire series.

00:52:20.900 --> 00:52:23.953
Pacers-deep to O'Neal.

00:52:24.153 --> 00:52:26.906
Into the lane, to the hoop,
and Shaq catches up.

00:52:30.910 --> 00:52:32.670
And that's what he has to do.

00:52:32.870 --> 00:52:35.164
A lot of different ways
to score.

00:52:37.750 --> 00:52:40.377
The toughest game
for us was in game 4.

00:52:41.712 --> 00:52:43.422
There's always one play
that you go,

00:52:43.622 --> 00:52:45.820
that's the one that killed us.

00:52:46.020 --> 00:52:48.219
It was that tip-in from Kobe.

00:52:55.851 --> 00:52:58.946
- And now uno mأ،s to go.

00:52:59.146 --> 00:53:00.356
Here comes
the two-on-one break

00:53:00.556 --> 00:53:01.574
with Kobe and Shaw.

00:53:01.774 --> 00:53:03.175
Kobe in deep, gives to Shaq.

00:53:03.375 --> 00:53:04.893
Shaq is hammered, scores.

00:53:05.093 --> 00:53:06.412
Listen to this crowd!

00:53:06.612 --> 00:53:08.080
The Lakers have the lead!

00:53:08.280 --> 00:53:09.498
To Miller,
he shoots a three.

00:53:09.698 --> 00:53:11.951
No good. Game's over.

00:53:27.299 --> 00:53:29.117
The mentality that I had,

00:53:29.317 --> 00:53:31.482
if I get to the finals again,

00:53:31.682 --> 00:53:33.648
I'm coming home with this.

00:53:33.848 --> 00:53:37.184
And I followed Phil's orders
and won the MVP too.

00:53:38.602 --> 00:53:40.942
Shaq Diesel!
Yeah, B!

00:53:41.142 --> 00:53:43.282
- Finally got one. Yeah.

00:53:43.482 --> 00:53:45.034
And the mentality that he had,

00:53:45.234 --> 00:53:46.948
I'm getting
one of these trophies too.

00:53:47.148 --> 00:53:48.663
So if you got two people
that have

00:53:48.863 --> 00:53:51.365
that same mentality
plus everybody else

00:53:51.565 --> 00:53:53.084
is on the right page...

00:53:53.284 --> 00:53:55.661
- Is it what you dreamed of?
- Oh, it's everything and more.

00:53:55.861 --> 00:53:56.921
I mean, you have
the Laker colors

00:53:57.121 --> 00:53:59.206
falling from the ceiling
and fans going crazy.

00:53:59.406 --> 00:54:02.710
You know, to reach
this pinnacle again

00:54:02.910 --> 00:54:04.637
after going all the way down,

00:54:04.837 --> 00:54:06.839
uh, it's just
a fantastic feeling.

00:54:07.039 --> 00:54:07.932
I can tell you.

00:54:08.132 --> 00:54:10.267
It took us ten years.

00:54:10.467 --> 00:54:11.644
It's really amazing.

00:54:11.844 --> 00:54:13.512
The championship
is back where it belongs.

00:54:13.712 --> 00:54:15.398
It is where it belongs.

00:54:15.598 --> 00:54:18.225
You know, to see his
just the satisfaction

00:54:18.425 --> 00:54:20.611
and his joy involved in that,

00:54:20.811 --> 00:54:23.531
it was a beautiful moment
for sure.

00:54:23.731 --> 00:54:25.983
I was a little kid,
but I've heard these stories

00:54:26.183 --> 00:54:27.243
about how the Lakers won

00:54:27.443 --> 00:54:29.194
so many championships
in the '80s,

00:54:29.394 --> 00:54:31.905
and being there with my father

00:54:32.105 --> 00:54:34.262
to see him
at his peak happiness,

00:54:34.462 --> 00:54:36.419
it made it
that much more special.

00:54:36.619 --> 00:54:38.379
Because really,
it was the first time

00:54:38.579 --> 00:54:42.541
me or Jesse really remember,
um, celebrating a championship.

00:54:42.741 --> 00:54:45.669
You know, we were just
so excited to be on that stage

00:54:45.869 --> 00:54:47.171
and be part of that.

00:54:50.382 --> 00:54:52.826
Is this the
beginning of another dynasty?

00:54:53.026 --> 00:54:55.271
We'll just have to see
what history says.

00:54:55.471 --> 00:54:57.765
And Shaq says you're gonna
do it again next year.

00:54:59.642 --> 00:55:00.651
That's a quote.

00:55:00.851 --> 00:55:02.069
Shaq's right.

00:55:02.269 --> 00:55:04.146
Well, if Shaq says
we're gonna win,

00:55:04.346 --> 00:55:05.773
uh, who am I to say?

00:55:08.442 --> 00:55:10.819
Okay, Shaq. Let's do it!

00:55:26.585 --> 00:55:27.720
Does that make
you feel better?

00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:29.505
You ain't gonna cry now,
are you, Ricky?

00:55:30.756 --> 00:55:32.216
That's what
I'm talking about!

00:55:34.259 --> 00:55:36.020
I'm just happy for the fans.

00:55:36.220 --> 00:55:38.097
I mean, I don't care
what city you take-

00:55:38.297 --> 00:55:40.307
New York, Sacramento, Indiana.

00:55:40.507 --> 00:55:41.400
Just forget it.

00:55:41.600 --> 00:55:44.028
This is where the fans are.

00:55:44.228 --> 00:55:46.230
You know, this trophy
belongs to them.

00:55:46.430 --> 00:55:48.899
I'm the keeper,
but they own it.

00:55:50.609 --> 00:55:51.827
Can you imagine what this

00:55:52.027 --> 00:55:53.537
victory parade
is gonna be like?

00:55:53.737 --> 00:55:55.831
I've got a feeling
that Los Angeles

00:55:56.031 --> 00:55:59.785
is gonna turn out in total
for this particular one.