Michael Jordan’s poignant Kobe tribute says, ‘A piece of me died’
who lost her parents and younger sister in the crash moments later.
“Kobe lived to make other people’s lives better, all the way up to his final text,” Pelinka said.
Jordan, the Chicago Bulls star whose career was wrapping up as Bryant’s was starting in the late 1990s, praised Bryant as “one of my dear friends. He was like a little brother . ... As I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”
O’Neal and Bryant joined the Lakers together in 1996 and won three consecutive championships during eight tumultuous seasons in purple and gold. Although their relationship was often rocky in public, O’Neal said the two were always friendly in private, even comparing their dynamic to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Calling Bryant “a loyal friend and a true Renaissance man,” O’Neal said the pair “pushed each other to play some of the greatest basketball of all time.”
O’Neal also got the biggest laugh in the somber service with a profane joke about an exchange in which Shaq told Kobe there was no “I” in team, but Bryant responded by noting that there is an “M-E.”
The ceremony began with Beyonce performing her songs “XO” and “Halo” with dozens of backup musicians. Keys performed Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” later in the program, and Aguilera sang “Ave Maria.”
The five-time NBA champion’s two retired jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — hang high above the arena where he became the third-leading scorer in league history. Lakers star LeBron James surpassed him on the night before Bryant’s death.
Hours before the service, Vanessa Bryant sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in the fog. The wrongful-death lawsuit claimed that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions.
Money from ticket sales at the sold-out memorial will be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programs in underserved communities and teaches sports to girls and women.
Samantha DeJesus, 32, and her brother George Galano, 31, paid $448 for their two seats. DeJesus said she got notified late that she had received tickets in a lottery and wasn’t sure if she wanted to pay that much.
But the siblings, who saw their first Lakers game at the Forum against the Utah Jazz in the 1990s, said they couldn’t miss it.
DeJesus called the ceremony “very emotional” and cried throughout.
“I loved every single eulogy that was given,” she said. “You knew it was meant from the heart.”
Galano, who was moved by the rendition of “Moonlight Sonata” by Alicia Keys, said he’s struggled to accept the tragedy since Jan. 26 and the memorial brought him closure.
“Now it’s just reality,” he said. “I’m glad they did this so we could move on and heal.”
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jordan says he didn’t see Kobe Bryant as his rival for the mythical honor of being recognized as the best basketball player ever.
Instead, he came to love Bryant as the little brother he never had, and as a student eager to learn from Jordan’s experiences and skills.
“He wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be,” Jordan said Monday at Bryant’s public memorial service at Staples Center. “And as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be.”
Jordan broke into tears with those words during a moving speech about his largely unpublicized friendship with Bryant, who died along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.
“When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died,” Jordan said. “And as I look (around) this arena and across the globe, a piece of you died, or else you wouldn’t be here. Those are the memories that we have to live with and we learn from. I promise you from this day forward, I will live with the memories of knowing that little brother that I tried to help in every way I could. Please rest in peace, little brother.”
The heartfelt comments from Jordan, the relatively media-shy billionaire owner of the Charlotte Hornets, were a poignant highlight of the two-hour ceremony. Jordan also provided a memorable image from the event when he stepped up to help Vanessa Bryant off the stage after she delivered her eulogy of her husband and daughter.
Bryant’s career with the Los Angeles Lakers took off in the late 1990s when Jordan was wrapping up his own stellar career with the Chicago Bulls. The two shooting guards with silky, aggressive offensive games competed fiercely against each other, with Jordan initially unwilling to cede ground to Bryant as the next superstar at their position.
But once they became acquaintances, Bryant bombarded Jordan with late-night phone calls and questions about how to improve. When a retired Jordan traveled to Los Angeles to visit Phil Jackson, the former Bulls coach then in charge of the Lakers, Jordan was greeted by Bryant — who immediately asked him if he had brought his shoes so they could play.