bryant, and his family, there are no words. 's. arthel: this is surreal day our coverage continues stay right here in fox news channel, kobe bryant unfortunately dead at 41. >> fox news alert we are waiting update from l.a. sheriff's department on the helicopter crashed it is killed five people today including basketball legend, kobe bryant. that news conference expected to begin any moments, we will bring that to you as soon as it gets underway. the basketball world, the nation and fans around the globe in shock and in sorrow with news that nba superstar kobe bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash in california. good evening i am jon scott and this is a special edition of the fox report. the 41 euros former los angeles laker was among the five people on the chopper when he went down the hills of calabasas this morning and foggy conditions.

we are awaiting an update from the l.a. county sheriff's department in malibu california on the crash that's expected to start in any moment. we will bring that to you as soon that gets underway. we do know that a go team is on its way to the crash site to try to begin the painstaking progress -- process of figuring out what went wrong. right now we go to christina coleman, she is in los angeles with the latest. >> holds on multiple reports are out stating that kobe's 13-year-old daughter gianna was also killed in the accident along with the teammate of bryant's daughter apparent of the teammates and the pilot. we have not independently confirm that information, but a press conference is scheduled to start soon and will likely provide more details. and as you have mentioned so many people in shock with news that kobe bryant, 41-year-old father, husband, an mba legend

died this morning in a helicopter crash. the mba held a moment of silence before the game between the houston rockets in the denver nuggets. it's one of a game scheduled today. the lakers are off today and it is unclear whether game will go on this evening a schedule. according to the atv the raptors and the san antonio spurs both took 242nd violations of the top of the game today to honor kobe. this all just goes to show the last thing a big impact kobe bryant had on the entire league. he retired in 2016 after 20 years in the game, drafted right out of high school and set record after record. in fact it was only just yesterday eclipsed as number three on the all-time scoring list by lebron james. reaction today pouring in today that played with him and idolized him expressing their extreme shock and mourning. including president trump who just tweeted a statement that read quote reports are that basketball great kobe bryant and three others had been killed in a helicopter crash in california.

that is terrible news. and from the sports world transom thompson from the cavaliers writing rest in peace kobe, i can't believe this is true, i'm at a loss for words. tom brady quarterback for the new england patriots writing miss you already kobe. just some of the reaction, many of them coming in right now. the helicopter went down shortly before 10:00 a.m. local time this morning, for other people were also killed. the faa and the and ts set to investigate the mayor describing kobe on twitter today is a giant who inspired and amazed and thrilled people everywhere. with incomparable skill on corporate he goes on to say that kobe has awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, and creative genius. cc it right there investigators going to be looking into this. so may questions as to what exactly happened. we do know there were foggy conditions this morning above those hills. so we will just have to wait

and see what is said about this. but again a press conference at the start on this any moment now and we will provide us with more details. eric: christina coleman we will go to that is soon as it begins. for more we want to bring in sportscaster and fox news contributor jim gray. jim, i know from watching earlier appearances that this was more than just a man you covered. he was a personal friend and a close one. >> indeed he was jon, i have known him literally his entire life. from being held in his mother arms when jellybean joan bryant was a player. since his dad played with the philadelphia 76ers and this and ego clippers. i have known kobe all this time, covered his first name, was there when gerry west engineered the trade that brought him from the hornets to the lakers.

did his last interview for fox and his uniform, this is a devastating moment for me, for the fans around the world, for his family obviously and it is just horribly tragic. eric: said let me ask you as having known him since he was a little baby. at what point did you think this guy could have the stuff to make it in the mba? >> very early. i remember him roaming the halls of these arenas and he was playing with the other kids including henry bibby michael bibby, many of the others and he had a knack at an early age and he was proficient at an early age. he was a high school phenomena him after he came back from italy. philadelphia was his roots, and you knew from the moment that he got into the mba, he was destined for greatness. to fulfill those expectations and to live up to that billing

and to be able to achieve more than what people should achieve, it was just a tribute to his hard work and dedication. his incredible myopic focus is the best ballplayer he was and the incredible, incredible athletic excellence he achieved. >> is an excellent was really his goal he did not want to be famous, he did not want to be rich necessarily,. >> i think he liked those things maybe have the same, he wanted to be the best. in he wanted to be excellent. that was his goal. that's what he was trying to achieve. that commitment to excellence is virtually unsurpassed by anyone i know who has participated in professional sports. there are others who i'm sure have it, floyd mayweather, michael jordan, tom brady, tiger woods, but he was myopic in his vision, he saw nothing other than victory and excellence that's all he wanted.

>> there are in the sports world, guys whom i'm sure you've covered who off the corridor off the field aren't necessarily people to be admired. but you can't say that about kobe bryant. >> from my perspective apsley not. there are thousands of acts of kindness he was not. >> guest: seeking any publicity for. the people he helped the way he went out of the way for others it might've gone trot contrary to the mamba mentality that he built and flourished in that might have looked a little awkward to be having so many acts of kindness and still have that killer type instincts that he nurtured. but he was a wonderful guy and very loyal, very loyal, decent wonderful friends. i'm going to remember very fondly those qualities. jon: the amazing marks that he has had. there is at threpeat that the

lakers made as champions and the 2,012,003 timeframe then shakeel o'neil was traded to the heat they thought the end of the dynasty. but kobe help bring them back. >> he was not gonna let that happen. and he wanted to show everybody he was not the sidekick, he was not robin to batman. and he did. and they brought impelled to saul, and some other players, not obviously the stature of shaquille o'neal, and kobe went on to win those championships. shakeel and one in miami and kobe wonder show i can do this too. and he did it. and later in life, they obviously patched up their differences, and figured out after his two late they were better together than apart. but kobe did achieve what he wanted to achieve. in fact he achieved everything in basketball, olympic gold medal, numerous times on the dream team, the usa basketball

, in the playoffs, as a champion scoring leader number three up until last night. had he gone on, he might've threatened the records of those above him kareem abdul-jabbar, but i think what i will remember also, is when doctor neil ella triage operated on him when he tore his achilles. the he did not want that to be the last impression of him and his basketball career. that would have been devastating in would have ended careers for 99% of other people he worked really hard the surgery was a huge success. they found a way to put in the proper treatment and kobe not only dedicate himself came back and flourish. came back from the torrent key ladies but also had some other ailments that sidelined him what three seasons ago?

>> and nobody beats father time as muhammad ali said. just catches up. from the time he came out of a high school, he didn't get to play those 2224 game seasons in college he went right to 82 games. even adele harris did not play him he played all these games place you and all those games in the postseason does add up to miles on your legs as well as extra seasons. so he may have retired at 38, but guess what, the mileage on his legs was like 46. so he had a very full, long lasting career that will reverberate forever. he will always be remembered as a competitor great champion and a terrific father. >> i believe we have a clip from the vaults of you talking with kobe bryant to be have a control room? let's listen. >> how do you want to be

remembered? >> i sent a long time ago when i was 15 years old i made a promise to myself and i said at the end of my career, i want people to think of me as a talented overachiever. i don't know waste that talent i will work, and i want to be remembered that way. since the nine he will be remembered that way and so many others. >> he will be remembered better because and more because he was remembered with all that. i was honored to do the first interview and his last interview. that speaks about the type of man and loyalty he had. he never forgot the people who were in his life. v9 jim gray, lifetime friend of kobe bryant. also our fox news sportscaster and contribute her. jim thank you so much.

it's been a tough day, tougher all of us. jon: our chief correspondent jonathan hunt is live in calabasas california and that's where the helicopter was now much of the life of kobe bryant and for others. >> good afternoon jon zero what is of course a very somber day here in calabasas across los angeles and across the entire world of sports. this is where kobe brian, and for other people on board that helicopter were flying to and when we believe the accident happened as they were attempting to land here. we are told by residents who were around here at the time, that there was thick fog hanging over the hills and if you come around just this way with me you can see, up on the hillside as kyle pans to the left, that is the smoking wreckage of the helicopter in which kobe bryant, his

13-year-old donna gianna, a pilot, and two other people were traveling and lost their lives when it apparently slammed into that hillside. what we do not know at the moment is the precise cause. as i said, those who live here have been telling various media outlets throughout the day that there is an extraordinary sick fog where they have rarely seen here in calabasas so clearly investigators will be looking at their potential reason for this crash. kobe bryant was flying the helicopter sikorsky's themselves have released a statement expressing their condolences as you would imagine in saying that they will cooperate with any investigation that is ongoing here. the ntsb will be looking into this too, but it's too early

to have a definitive cause for the crash. the weather may have played a part. we've had some very, very unusually foggy conditions here in l.a. and that was the case this morning when the helicopter went down behind me here. and as we spin around again, you can see some of the many people who have shown up here to express their sadness, to express their admiration, total respect for such a legend of the game of basketball. many people showing up here, also i can tell you downtown l.a., today at the staples center where the lakers play. obviously a lot of people showing up there. it's causing some issues because the grammys award ceremony is actually at staples tonight. that hundreds if not thousands of people just want to be in the location where they can pay tribute to such a great basketball legend. lost today at the young age of

41. jon. it's been nine for more on this terrible story let's bring in anthony tall certified sports agent and ceo of the spires starts group. anthony, your thoughts on this very sad day? >> it's very hard to grapple with. you see all of these images of kobe with president obama, and just listening to -- with legends like michael jordan and magic johnson and looking into jim gray and what he said, and mentioning henry bibby who i have represented, and everyone is so affected by this. and everyone is so devastated and this town and l.a. right now but it's hard to grapple with. a lot of things that you kind of come to mind ours how young and how vibrant he is and that multimillion dollar style that he brought to the league.

i talked before how he took nba basketball and made it into their hollywood star. there star you can see them on tv and everybody wants to be them. so that part of kobe's image and that lexicon that he will eternally be wrapped into. but a very sad day, very depressing day as a dad. as a father of a daughter just a very sad day. jon: we are looking at some the clips of him, this is a guy who pushed himself hard on the basketball court but he also enjoyed life outside of basketball. and he meant toward a lot of young people. >> yes he did. he was always seen doing a lot of charity. "we never wanted a lot of attention for that. i remember him and his wife vanessa, they were very involved with homelessness and los angeles which has become a very huge issue lately.

kobe has been involved in trying to work on solutions for this problem long before it got the national attention it's gotten now. so very, very impressive man and the way he carried himself. great father, and i think that's what he would be want to be remembered most as. a great father. taking his daughter to basketball practice, and being so proud of his daughters and just a great family man. but yeah, he did a lot outside of basketball that made his legacy, and made the legend of him a lot bigger than just a great player on the court. we see a lot of great players on the court but not all of them can transfer that off the court. like kobe bryant has been able to do. jon: he was third and regular-season scoring until last night when he was surpassed by lebron james, do you wish he would've played another season? >> i kind of want him to play another season, but one thing

about kobe if he ever felt as if he couldn't be at the top of his game, there was no sense of him playing. those last two years of his career, you kind of got the sense he wasn't really, his heart was not into it. so i am glad he retired when he retired. i didn't want to see and like willie mays or one of these players it stayed too long. he has played 20 years. twenty years deep into the playoffs for a majority of that 20 years. and championships and being played on the usa team. so he did a lot of taxing on his body. even though he came into the league at about 17 years old, all that taxing on his body had to take a toll. and i was happy to see he got out of the game, retired, he had a spot as a championship and then he went on to write -- he got an oscar. he went on to write a screenplay or adopt a screenplay that got an oscar. so he is a very intelligent young man. we don't talk about how intelligent he was.

he spoke three languages, played with players in italy. wells were known, very cosmopolitan, just a very interesting, very simply brought guy to say the least. so he will be list. his impact on the worlds and the game of basketball will forever be missed. jon: an oscar for the short film dear basketball from the studio he started. he was going to go on and do sell many things. it is so tragic that his life ended today i met hillside in calabasas. anthony thank you. will be back in a moment with a more on the life and passing of kobe bryant. >> man: what's my safelite story?

i spend a lot of time in my truck. it's my livelihood. ♪ rock music >> man: so i'm not taking any chances when something happens to it. so when my windshield cracked... my friend recommended safelite autoglass. >> tech: hi, i'm adrian. >> man: thanks for coming. >> tech: oh, no problem. >> tech: check it out. >> man: yeah.

they came right to me, with expert service where i needed it. that's service i can trust... no matter what i'm hauling. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

jon: fox news learn we have been telling about the news conference coming up in malibu california. originally was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., pacific time that's 5:00 p.m. east coast time. but that has now been pushed back, we are told to expect it at about seven to ten minutes from now 530 eastern time. that of course will be what authorities know to disappoint. they don't know much about the helicopter crash that killed l.a. lakers star, kobe

bryant. we'll make it to that news conference, when it begins we will take it their life. in the meantime will take you to christina kallman she is live in los angeles with the latest. christina. >> we just learned that kobe bryant retired jerseys are lit up for the grammys tonight at the staples center. in a major investigative effort will be underway, the ntsb has a go team to investigate this crash. there are statements that 13 year old daughter gianna was killed in the accident. a teammate and parent is also killed those have not been independently confirmed. as you mentioned a press conferences set to start soon and will provide more details. and so again, so many people in shock with news that kobe bryant, this 41-year-old father, husband, nba legend, died this morning and this helicopter crash on a hillside in calabasas during a foggy

condition. which it has not been foggy like this lately. but today it was, a crowd of mourners are at the crash site. just there expressing their condolences, coming together to show their love and support for kobe bryant, the mva had a moment of silence before the houston and the nuggets one of eight scheduled today. the laggards were off today but it's unclear whether games this evening will go on as scheduled. according to tv the raptors and the spurs both took 242nd violations of the top of the game today to honor kobe. this goes to show the huge impact that bryant had on the entire league. he retired in 2016 after 20 years in the game. he had five nba championships, he was drafted right out of high school and set record after record. again, he was only just yesterday eclipse is number three on the all-time scoring list by lebron james.

and that actually was kobe's last tweet was about. that tweet has been read tweeted more than 256,000 times. kobe congratulated lebron on passing him on the all-time scoring list. being a good sport there, reaction pouring in from people who idolize him as they express their shock and condolences. president trump he tweeted a statement today saying that we lost someone great. at the cavalier is saying rest in peace kobe i can't believe this is chairman a loss from words. tom brady the quarterback for the new england patriot saying we miss you already. these are just some of the reaction coming out tonight. again that helicopter went down shortly before 10:00 a.m. local time this morning. there were four other people also killed, and that major investigative efforts that will include the faa and the ntsb set to start. another basketball legend creamed abdul-jabbar most

people remember kobe as an athlete he inspired a whole generation of basque ballplayers. but i will always remember him as a man who is much more than an athlete. that just goes to show the major impact. there's so many people and parents who travel with their children, who are their coaches, who are their mentors themselves. think on these road trips to the names and travel all the time. for all the moms and dads out there, it's just been incredibly heartbreaking. we know just what a role model kobe was. his skill on courts, entering the league at 17 years old, such a young man and has matured so much. become such a role model not just here in this country, but worldwide. and so the impact he has had and will have for decades to come, is just profound. and that is something you can see a glimpse of now with people who are -- who want to find different places to mourn and come together to share in their grief and their loss and

their shock of this nba legend. jon: christie and i know people have been asked to not go to the staples center tonight because of the grammys being there. but that is the place they want to go, sort of to pay their respects to kobe. >> absolutely. even there at the crash site, you have the emergency responders they are set to start this major investigation. this is obviously a traffic seen what the smoke there. the fire was contained immediately to the crash site, but you can see there are a lot of people a long line of people just standing out there against that just to see what they could see of where the world has lost this legend. jon: once again, the news conference about this helicopter crash that has claimed the life of former nba legend kobe bryant, expected to start any minute now. when it begins we will take you there, life.

sfx: [sneezing]

i am not for ignoring the first sign of a cold. i am for shortening my cold, with zicam! zicam is completely different. unlike most other cold medicines, zicam is clinically proven to shorten colds. i am a zifan for zicam! oral or nasal. of course i'd love to take an informal poll. i used to be a little cranky. dealing with our finances really haunted me. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! hey! you got the burnt marshmallow out! (delivery man) he slimed me. (janine) tissue? (vo) get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business.

jon: this is the day kobe bryant passed away, the former l.a. lakers star was only 41 years old. one of the all-time greats in basketball. we are getting ready for the news conference. you can see on the left of your screen, the news conference of which authorities will tell us what they know about this crash

that took the life of basketball greats and for others. in the meantime let's bring in former los angeles laker and nba executive gerry west. you are the guy responsible for bringing him to the lakers. >> that's not necessarily true it was in collaboration with his agent at this time. we want him to play here in los angeles. we felt he would be a player that would be a great. and he was just a 17-year-old kid then. he had not eat able to sign the contract. usually 17 years old. he had to be 18 years old before he could sign. jon: so his parents had to

sign for him. >> anyway i watched him grow up, and i'm not trying to take any credit, but i was like a sarah get father for him. he couldn't drive. my son ryan would drive him around town trying to find places for him to live along with his agents. having entered our house, very much like a very bright, young teenager. and he had a charm about him, he had a sweet way about him. but he also had the other way. jon: jerry west we hate to drop your phone call but the sheriff the l.a. county sheriff's speaking now about the crash. >> it's a briefing of the incident.

today shortly before 10:00 o'clock at 9:47 a.m. the los angeles county fire department received a 911 call of a potential helicopter down in a brushfire at the intersection of loss verges road in the city of calabasas. upon arrival, they saw approximately a quarter acre brush fire that resulted from a crash on the hillside. the fire department's initial response with 15 people and apparatus and 56 personnel consisted of paramedics, engine company, every rescue, truck company, hand companies aircraft and officer to oversee the incident. upon arrival of the sheriff's departments, our two respective departments entered into a unified command to

handle this incident. our firefighters on scene indicated there was a debris field and steep terrain with a quarter acre of brushfire at the time. our firefighters piped into the accident site with their medical equipment and hose lines to extinguish the fire as it included the brushfire, debris from the helicopter, and the fire also included magnesium which was very hard for firefighters to extinguish. magnesium reacts with oxygen and water. in addition to our firefighters hiking into the incident, we had one helicopter flight to the incident with firefighter paramedics on board. those paramedics were hoisted down to the incident early into the incidents, they did a search of the area for

survivors. unfortunately all survivors onboard were determined to have perished. firefighters and hand crews worked to extinguish the fire while carefully preserving the area for investigation. currently the investigation is ongoing. i would like to turn this over to my sheriff to continue. >> thank you chief osby. personnel from the sheriff station responded to the scene of the crash sites and assisted the fire department. we have established a containment area and now our arrow bureau has a handle on traffic -- aircraft accidents when there is a fatality. bennett switches to the national safety bureau and the federal -- faa.

the faa is already on scene and assisting. we are awaiting the arrival of the coroner's office to assist in the recovery of the remains. as a chief indicated, there are no survivors. we have a manifest that indicates there were nine people on the aircraft. the pilot plus eight individuals. there is wide speculation of who the identities are. it is entirely inappropriate to identify anyone by name until the corner has made the identification through their very deliberative process and they have made notification to the next of kin. it would be extremely disrespectful to understand when your loved one has perished and you learn that from tmz. that is totally inappropriate so we are not going to be going there. we are going to wait until the corner does their job, and we are assisting the family of those who believe they have been impacted. it is a tough process. our heart goes out to all of the members on board, the

family of all those on board of this aircraft. god bless their souls. so this point in time we have nothing we can add until the corner does their job. and we will be making those notifications only have that information. and we know the next of kin have been notified. and then we can release the information publicly. you will be notified and subsequent announcements. [inaudible] >> to have confirmation of nine bodies of the scene? >> yes. >> so we realize there are a lot of questions and a lot of information out there. again we understand there is a lot of information that is floating. but we certainly have a responsibility and obligation out of respect to the families at this very difficult time. the mayor here we thank them for being here. and in fact they want to pass on the message for those in the community he wants to gather here, if you do, you are welcome to join others at

the park here in calabasas the cross streets are less verges in law phil. also the shares information bureau will be sending out updates to when there will be, if there was one a press advisory outs, notification of a press conference or any other updates through our twitter. so if you look for that, and again we thank you so much for being here today. [inaudible] jon: so the news is even worse than first thought. the los angeles county sheriff alex villanueva saying there were nine people apparently on board this helicopter that claimed the life of kobe bryant and others. no survivors from this crash. le. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar.

glucerna. everyday progress while helping you manage your blood sugar. i need all the breaks, that i can get. at liberty butchumal- cut. liberty biberty- cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ you get more than yourfree shipping.ir, you get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, i'll take that. wait honey, no.

when you want it. you get a delivery experience you can always count on. you get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. you get fast and free shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. that's what you get when you've got wayfair. so shop now! this round's on me.eat. hey, can you spot me? come on in. find your place today, with silversneakers. included in most medicare advantage plans. enroll today by calling the number on your screen or visit getsilversneakers.com tit's great actually, i've been listening to audible. it's audiobooks, news, meditations... gotta go! ♪

♪ hey! you know, i do think it's weird you've started commuting when you work from home. i'll be in my office. download audible and start every day off right.

jon: kobe bryant, the legendary nba star is dead

tonight at the age of 41. killed in a helicopter crash which we just learned also claimed the lives of eight other people. that happened today and calabasas, california. the nba world is in shock, los angeles and shah, really the world in shock at what happen that the super star is died so young. we understand he was on his way to a tournament to where he was going to be coaching seventh and eighth grade girls. jim gray, our fox sportscaster is with us and knows a little bit more about that. >> i'm told he was on his way to be coaching the team including his daughter. and this was the mamba tournament in kobe's gym just outside of thousand oaks. it became apparent to some of the people on the ground when

kobe had not arrived with his daughter. his daughter's teammate that something had gone wrong. they were waiting on him and as a tournament taking place which was the mamba attorney. mama is the nickname. jon: the nickname for the very quick snake they can strike so very fast. and that was kobe bryant on the bless call court. >> and obviously he procured that name and took it to a whole new level. along with nike and his sponsors, that's what he became known as worldwide. and he could strike at a moments notice particularly on the basketball court. he thought that best fit him. in fact he is the one who basically picked his own nickname all those years ago. jon: you told the story earlier about him tweeting to you for your birthday or messaging you for your

birthday. maybe you could share that with us once again? >> my wife had a 60th birthday party for me, kobe is usually the celebrations in my life and vice versa with his. he was unable to attend because he was out of the country. but remembered on my birthday and sent me that text. so we had stayed in touch, and done countless interviews together. we had become friends. he was on his new career path, and wanting to be able to tell stories. he called me two or three times when he embarked on this new career to pick my brain, just like he picked his teammates brain and his competitors brain. he wanted to show the best way to tell stories. and was deeply, deeply committed to it. he won that academy award for deer basketball. you see his photo there with that academy he had greatness in his future and that area

and other areas as well. i don't know anybody else who is one in nba championship and an academy award. jon: multiple nba championships an academy award. and as you said just getting started in the filmmaking business. >> and that was his passion. he was now looking back at basketball is what he was going to contribute and life. he really felt a passion for this new endeavor he was taking on. and he was committed to it. this is what he wanted to do. he did not want to own a basketball team and was not looking to manage a basque about team. jon: and he had a passion for young people too. well as up-and-coming players. >> i got a text from dean from the los angeles chargers and kobe was very instrumental in the chargers moved over to that net of the wards up from

san diego into his area down porton newport beach. he came and spoke to the team from time to time and took some of the young players under his wing. he wanted to see them have career paths and offered his help. not a football expertise way but as a superstar who could impair some wisdom. and he did, he did that for a number of teams. he did it for coaches chefs. he often said if he would've played college basketball he would've liked to play for coach k. he did play for him on the dream team. coach k as it was related, as i would see them practice and related to me by steve wynn, would have to sit on the bench and kobe would take over practice and take over. and steve when asked him, why do you let him do that? he said because he can get to them in a way that i can't. his information is better than what i can say. so why not? so i speak highly of coach k

but not only the level of competence, but basketball intellect and personal intellect that kobe bryant had that he could command the respect of dream team or's. those are guys who know everything about basketball. there's not much you can teach them. but he had a presence and he exerted it. jon: you mentioned that he was moving on. this film studio that he started obviously met with success right away. but he never talked about missing basketball it may be wishing he would've gone that extra season? >> he did not. it was in his rearview mirror and he was that total peace with that. he did not want to play anymore, he did not sit there and pine and think that he should necessarily played any longer. he did a series for espn call details, where he would break down the game and he felt that was a good way for him to be able to connect with the public and connect with today's players. he had them on as recently as

if you go on espn right now you can watch them. he would break down the finals, he would break down steph curry, so i think you got is filled with that. plus robin's longtime agent became the head of basketball operations and the general managers for the lakers. it was basically because of his relationship with kobe that jeannie decided to pair him with magic johnson because of how effective rob wasn't how much information he had been able to ascertain and glean from his relationship with kobe bryant. so he wasn't having an active day-to-day hands, but he had a lot of input and was available through espn and details throughout rob he was still involved in basketball but not in a daily moment to moment basis. be nine jim gray stay with this anthony called the ceo of the aspire sports group, sports agent as well as an

attorney, anthony we talked a lot about the championships, the point records, the contributions this guy made to basketball. but he made a lot of other contributions as well. apparently he died on his way to coach a seventh and eighth grade girls basketball team. that says a lot about the character of this man. >> exactly, if you have any solid in this very sad day is that you have to think at least he was doing something with his family, with his daughter who he loved. being a family man and being tied to the game of basketball which he loved. i am listening to jim gray and i can just hear the pain in his voice and that's how the city of los angeles feels. that speaks a lot to just what he had given to the community. and what he means to this community. these are people who have probably never met him, but i talked earlier about this image he would bring to booktv

and then when he was able to start going out into the community, he went out so forcefully and with that smile, it was very welcoming. unlike what people thought he was earlier in his career. his very welcoming young man and carried himself in such a good light, did so much for the community. so when i'm hearing jim gray speak, i can feel how los angeles feels right now. jon: he came into the league straight out of high school. not something you're allowed to do anymore. but he was 17 years old when he made it in the nba. and it wasn't because he didn't have the smarts to get into a top rated college, he had big time sat scores. jim go ahead. >> it was often set of kobe bryant he didn't go to college because he didn't need to go to college. [laughter] he spoke italian fluently, he kept up with it, he learned a lot overseas, he learned a lot

from his father jellybean joe about life in the nba and what it took to be a professional athlete. and if because joe and pam lived with him as jerry west was talking about earlier. they moved out and move the whole family and sisters, so we had the tutoring and the mentoring from his folks. but he spent a lifetime of training, getting ready to play professional basketball through what he had seen with his father in upper merion high school just outside of philadelphia. you could see he was ready. he didn't go to college, but he was a very highly educated, intelligent man. jon: other than the wear and tear in his body that that 82 game season put on those young knees, was their -- were there ever any regrets? >> you have to look at it this way, and nobody's really examine this. but think about this. he did not have the 24 games that a college player has. he was playing 82 games when

he's 17 and 18 years old. he did that all the way through those 20 years. and then you add in the postseason. it takes 16 games to win the championship. so you win 16 but you can lose 15 to get there. that's another 30 games and you multiply that times all the seasons he was in the playoffs and the chama ships. and he was in basketball the international play. he had 48-year-old nba legs if you add up all of those plus the preseason. so 38 is a ripe old age for an nba player and the fact that he came back after torn at keeley's that i mentioned doctor neil ella trash got him back out on the court. and kobe bryant played probably the fullest nba career of possibly anybody -- i don't know the record number of games if you add the postseason which they down it was probably pretty close to having the most ever. jon: jim gray close personal

friend of kobe bryant and anthony from the aspire port sports group, our coverage will continue after the break. .. this blt is delicious!

made it myself. i love this place! made that myself, too. order up. fries on the side. right where i like 'em. don't forget the grease fire. burn, baby -- wait, what? -[ alarm beeping ] -i said grease fire. what are you doing on the counter? when owning a small business gets real... sorry. can i get a to-go box? ...progressive helps protect what you built -with customizable coverage. -aah!

...progressive helps protect what you built sleep this amazing? that's a zzzquil pure zzzs sleep. our liquid has a unique botanical blend, while an optimal melatonin level helps you nod off naturally with no next-day grogginess. zzzquil pure zzzs. naturally superior sleep. and try vicks pure zzzs kidz, a low dose melatonin gummy that helps your child fall asleep naturally.

jon: shock and sorrow in the sports world. nba superstar kobe bryant is dead. killed in a helicopter crash in california. i'm jon scott. the 48-year-old former lax maker was among nine people on board when it went down north of calabasas. conditions at the time were very foggy. one of kobe bryant's four daughters jianna reportedly also killed in that crash. one rest greatest