court. >> kobe bryant has hit a shot at the buzzer! >> the five-time nba champion, lakers legend. his unexpected death leaving a city in mourning for their hero. >> kobe! kobe! kobe! >> now the life and legacy of a titan who transcended the game, inspired millions across the globe to pursue the mamba mentality. his gift to the next generation to aim for greatness. >> we're all human, and we all make mistakes, and we just hope that, you know, the hero side of us manifests itself more frequently than the villain nature does. >> this special edition of "nightline," "remembering kobe." we'll be right back.

we rso why not geternet the most out of it? introducing faster download speeds on xfinity internet tiers. and a smarter, more secure home wifi network. plus, you can get xfinity flex, a personalized streaming dashboard that puts all your favorites in one place. unleash the power of xfinity internet and get more value than ever. now that's simple, easy, awesome. get started for $34. 99 a month for 12 months and add a flex 4k streaming device on us. click, call or visit a store today. ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us for this special edition of "nightline." we're outside the staples center in downtown los angeles. as many parts of the world grieve the death of kobe bryant. tonight this sports and entertainment arena is its epicenter, a complex turned

chapel of sorts for a city in mourning. kobe bryant wasn't simply a star. he was a symbol of how far gifts and grit can take a person. the fact that he died so young and so tragically along with his teenage daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash reminds us all not just sports fans how quickly and how unexpectedly life can change. and whether famous or not, fate will humble us all. >> i want to be the best player that i can become. and i will do anything to accomplish that. >> sports is a very emotional thing. and in our world that emotion is what creates the magic. >> reporter: fiv-time nba champion. 18-time all-star. two-time gold medalist. oscar winner. husband. father. koebtd kobe bryant's tragic death at age 41 felt around the world from his fans -- >> kobe, kobe, kobe, kobe! >> reporter: to his friends. >> kobe, my thoughts are with

you. absolutely. rest in peace, young man. >> reporter: so his colleagues. >> he brought joy to so many young kids that had the same admiration and same desire to do something unique. >> reporter: tributes pouring in from all corners of the world. his face on the front page of major newspapers. kobe bryant was not a perfect man. no one is. but he pursued his craft, his passion, with a thirst for perfection like few athletes the world has ever watched. >> this man was probably the fiercest competitor the game has ever seen. he did not want to lose. >> he's one of the iconic players that the nba has ever seen. he was an explosive athlete that can dunk on anybody yet at the same time he was really read. he did his homework. he spoke a couple of languages. he was a basketball intellect. >> reporter: this sudden loss leaving the city kobe called home for decades in mourning.

>> the two landmarks in los angeles at the end of the 21st century were the hollywood sign and kobe bryant. that's it. >> reporter: sunday morning on the shy side of sunrise when witnesses say the l.a. fog was thick as milk kobe, his 13-year-old daughter gianna a few of her teammates, coaches and parents were on their way to the girls' basketball game when their helicopter crashed. all nine, pilot included, dead. including john altobelli, keri altobelli, alyssa altobelli, sarah chester, payton chester, and coach christina mauser. my colleague t.j. holmes spoke today with matt mauser, christina's husband. >> she really took a lot of pride in being there for those girls, and she absolutely adored them. and i was so proud of her. i said, christina, you're doing something that, you know, no other person in the world is

doing. you're coaching basketball with kobe. and i'm so proud of you. i hope i said i love you. i hope i said i love you. i just don't know. >> reporter: we do know plenty about kobe b. bryant. kobe's father, joe jellybean bryant played eight seasons for the nba and eight more in italy, where he moved the family when kobe was 5. when he returned home to philadelphia, he became a high school hoops star, catching the attention of espn in this 1996 report. >> on fridays and saturdays i would go in my rec room with my basketball and basically dribble myself to sleep. and i think that that was the best thing that could have ever happened to me because during those lonely hours in the rec room i discovered the hunger, the motivation, the desire to be the best possible basketball player that i could be. >> reporter: by his senior year the kid had swagger. announcing or rather daring the world to listen, he was going pro. >> i, kobe bryant, have decided

to take my talent to -- [ laughter ] i have decided to skip college and take my talent to the nba. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: critics doubted. his parents never did. >> i don't have any doubt in my son. he gets 110% grades. i mean his grades are good. you see how he plays. >> reporter: at age 17 kobe bryant became just the fifth high school basketball player to jump straight to the nba. >> coming into the league, the pressure on kobe bryant was enormous. you've got this 17-year-old kid coming straight from high school to the pros. was he going to play in college or was he going to jump straight to the pros? a lot of people thought he wasn't ready. a lot of people thought he needed a couple of years of seasoning and he could easily get that in college. >> reporter: drafted by charlotte in 1996 and quickly traded to the los angeles lakers. he was still living at home with his parents, telling barbara

walters his older laker teammates ribbed him about that. >> anybody ever tease you for still living at home? do your teammates ever tease you? >> all the time. >> what do they say? >> you're still living with your mama. mama's boy. this, that and the other. i say that's cool, i don't care. >> no time? >> no time. i'm so busy playing basketball. >> you were a very good student in high school and you could have gone on to college and you decided not to. why did you pass on college? >> i just saw the nba being such a challenge, such a thrill for myself. but at the same time i can still play in the nba, still get my education. >> how do you get your education? >> summer school. it takes a while. it takes a while. it's a longer process. but if you can have the best of both worlds, why not? >> if you look back at all of the great highlights of his career, he wasn't bragodocious. he didn't taunt. he didn't thump his chest. he didn't say anything while he was out there on the floor. and it just showed the level discipline and maturity he

always carried himself with. >> reporter: he purposely mimicked his boyhood idol michael jordan. not just his style. even his speech. >> michael jordan had this other-worldly talent. kobe had that too. but you could feel like you could reach out and touch it. that you might be able to be like him by watching him, by doing what he did. so on the court you take that last-second shot, you're trying to be like kobe. you're yelling out kobe. trying to make it. that's what he meant to that generation and so many basketball fans out there. >> reporter: kobe told barbara walters jordan encouraged him to stay aggressive. >> does staying aggressive mean playing aggressively or does it mean don't get scared? >> it means you don't want to be intimidated by what people are saying. you have to continue to go out there and dot things that got you to that point. >> what do you say to critics who say you're too showbiz, too many tricks? >> thank you. >> i'm glad you noticed? >> thank you. thank you very much. most of the time i really don't

try to showboat. >> because you are so young and because you've done so well, because of the all-star game, there are some people who are perhaps hoping you'll file. you know that. >> it only drives me to succeed even more. >> so you can show them? >> not necessarily show them. but when people say things like that, it motivates me even more. and then at the end if i prove them wrong it's icing on the cake. >> do you ever worry if it's too much too soon? >> sometimes i do think about that. the biggest challenge for me is staying focused on the game. and keep the game in front. >> reporter: come game time to his opponents he had fun and focus like a snake, ready to strike. bryant gave himself the nickname the black mamba. kill without provocation or apology. >> mamba mentality came out of that black mamba character. and what that meant, long story short, was this sort of like take no prisoners killer mentality. this mentality of you can do anything you want to do, nothing

is impossible if you have that mamba mentality, if you're willing to work harder than anybody else, if you're willing to put in more time, if you're willing to do the things to be great at your craft that no one else will do. >> yes! >> well, there's 70. >> reporter: in 2006 his venom paralyzed the toronto raptors for a jawbreaking 81 points. >> kobe bryant pump fake. kobe's got the laker record! >> i remember watching it on tv. and the whole time i just had one phrase going through my mind. this can't be happening. what is he doing? what is this? again? again? shot after shot. free throws. it's just every once in a while you see an athlete doing something that you will remember for the rest of your life. 81-point game, that was the moment for me. >> and an 81-point game! >> reporter: it was the nba version of a beatdown. and former player jalen rose took the brunt of it. >> when one of the all-time

great players, you know, have a historic game there's really nothing you can do about it. and unfortunately, people on the other side have to be a witness up close and personal to their greatness. and we joked after the game. at least we kept him under 100 points. how about that? >> reporter: kobe bryant became a global superstar not just because of his talent or his times. he like few others could literally talk to the world. spanish. italian. chinese. it was also a career not short of scandal. and eventually, surprisingly, a softer side. when we come back, kobe bryant, even more fierce about his family than his profession. >> and who is your hero? who is your basketball hero? >> my father. hands down. when i grew up in italy, he's the guy that i idolized. >> if you could be like your dad you'd be very happy? >> oh, yeah. if i could follow in his footsteps, i'd be very happy. >> reporter: a complicated man with demons to conquer and miles

to go. through the eyes of one who knew him well. (whistling) seaonly abreva cany to help sget rid of it in... ...as little as 2 1/2 days when used at the first sign. abreva starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. abreva acts on it. so you can too. this is charlie not coughing because he took delsym 12-hour. and this is charlie still not coughing while trying his hardest not to wake zeus. delsym 12-hour. nothing lasts longer for powerful cough relief.

a peaceful night sleep without only imagine... frequent heartburn waking him up. now that dream is a reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, can u imagine 24 hours without heartburn? liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shhhh. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too. and last 12 hours. 12 hours? who studies that long?! mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs for 12 hours with 2 medicines in 1 pill. you have fast-acting power over pain, so the whole world looks different. the unbeatable strength and speed of advil liqui-gels.

what pain? a former army medic, made of the we maflexibility to handle members like kate. whatever monday has in store and tackle four things at once. so when her car got hit, she didn't worry. she simply filed a claim on her usaa app and said... i got this. usaa insurance is made the way kate needs it - easy. she can even pick her payment plan so it's easy on her budget and her life. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for.

usaa hurricanes. tornadoes. donald trump is making it worse. trump:"all of this with the global warming. a lot of it's a hoax." vo: mike bloomberg knows the science and understands the challenge, he's led an effort that has shut down half the nation's dirty polluting coal plants so far. as president, a plan for 80% clean energy by 2028 - cutting carbon emissions and creating millions of clean energy jobs. mike will get it done. i'm mike bloomberg and

i approve this message. ♪ with the sweetest fadeaway jump shot, school boys and girls around the world would imitate, kobe bryant was the man, especially to millennials. a star in full bloom at the birth of social media. for all of his global attention, few of us knew how much he stumbled at the start. >> i met kobe bryant when i was almost a rookie, 23 years old, in this business of sports writing. and he was a rookie, just coming

out of high school 37. >> reporter: veteran sports reporter rachel nichols did. they were both kids, in cutthroat businesses. >> a lot of this is lost now in the myth of kobe bryant. he did not have an easy entry into the nba. he joined a team that had a lot of veterans. they did not like that this kid was getting all the attention, both from the media, from the pop culture world. there was 100 things. and they hazed him. and he had friends on the team, but by and large he was not welcome. and he and i talked quite a bit about that. and at the end of it he sort of looked at me and he said, "we're going to be okay." he said, "they don't know what's coming." and i'll remember that conversation for the rest of my life. >> reporter: kobe bryant turned it around, of course, with tenacity. five titles didn't hurt. his edge like his work ethic, legendary. >> what was unique about kobe bryant's work ethic? unique about his intensity. >> you need to be crazy good to

be a professional athlete, and you need to have an insane work ethic. that's the baseline. right? for anybody. the odds of you making it as a pro is less than 1%. so everybody who makes it to the nba is that. then double it for kobe bryant. allen iverson tells a story about they were going to be playing each other and he and allen were talking saying oh, what are you doing tonight? and allen said i'm going to the club. and kobe said oh, i'm going to the gym. >> reporter: at the peak of his profession kobe bryant nearly lost it all. in 2003 a 19-year-old hotel worker accused bryant of rape. allegations he denied. the charges were eventually dropped when his alleged victim declined to testify. they reached an undisclosed financial settlement in civil court. his cocky yet clean-cut image permanently shattered. according to nichols and many who knew him well, the experience sobered kobe bryant. no longer quite so entitled. certain sides to his edg

softened. >> he made a real effort after that to make sure that women's voices were heard, to put up women's sports as being important and something that needed a place on the stage. >> reporter: and he leaned hard into his family. his wife, their daughters. >> those girls were so important to him. players, they get back often from road games in the middle of the night. right? it's 3:00 in the morning. and he would wake up in the morning to take his daughters to school. and then get in the workout and then do all the things he had to do. he knew that that in the end was his legacy. all the titles, all the points, all the moments, it was going to be those girls. >> reporter: a doting father of four, natalia, gianna, bianka, and capri were his greatest accomplishments. but it was his second-born known as gigi who inherited his love of basketball. something the proud dad often bragged about on instagram. and in an interview like this 2018 appearance on "jimmy kimmel live." >> do you think your daughter might want to play in the wnba? >> she does for sure. >> she does?

>> it means -- this kid, man. >> wouldn't that be great? >> dude, man. i'm telling you. [ cheers and applause ] the best thing -- the best thing that happens is when we go out and fans will come up to me and she'll be standing next to me and they'll be like, you've got to have a boy. you and v got to have a boy. have somebody carry on your tradition, your legacy. she's like, "oy. i got this." you don't need a boy for that. [ cheers and applause ] like that's right. yes, you do. you got this. >> reporter: and like her daddy, gigi dreamed big. >> she has it all mapped out in her head already. you know, things change when you're kids, obviously. but she's like, when i'm going to go to high school i'm going to win state championships and then i'm going to go to the university of uconn and play for geno. she has her husky shirts and she does not take those things off. >> reporter: by all accounts kobe bryant was both intentional and fierce about everybody and everything that mattered to him. when he hung up his sneakers, he leaned into writing, a boy hod passion, and of all things -- >> kobe! >> won an an an

>> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> reporter: academy award winner, social justice advocate, successful entrepreneur, hall of fame nba career. all packed into 41 years. kobe bryant lived two remarkable lives. complicated, charismatic, gifted. for all the reasons the world loved him, those who knew him best loved him most. >> you're a mother to beautiful twin daughters. >> yes. >> when your daughters 20 years from now are grown women and if someone says mama, who was kobe bryant? what will you say? >> he was one of the greatest. he really was. he had such a fierce confidence about what was possible. and that is what i would love people to take away from him. is it's not just the titles or the things he did on the public

stage. he thought, yeah, i can do this. you can do it. we can do it. i would love for the kids who look up to him to take that into their own lives. >> we'll be right back with a final note. break out the butter lobsterfest is on at red lobster if you've been dreaming about tender wild-caught lobster, dig in to butter-poached, fire-roasted and shrimp & lobster linguini. see? dreams do come true. or if you like a taste of new england without leaving home, try lobster, sautéed with crab, jumbo shrimp and more, or maybe you'd like to experience the ultimate surf and the ultimate turf... with so many lobster dishes, there's something for every lobster fan so hurry in and let's lobsterfest.

or get pick up or delivery at redlobster.com heartburn and gas? ♪ fight both fast tums chewy bites with gas relief all in one relief of heartburn and gas ♪ ♪ tum tum tum tums tums chewy bites with gas relief sstop struggling to clean tough messes with sprays. try clean freak! it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact. and it's great for bathrooms! just keep pumping the power nozzle to release a continuous burst of mist and make quick work of big jobs. it even works on stainless steel. it cuts through 100% of dirt, grease and grime. available with easy-to-swap refills. to get three times the cleaning power, try clean freak from mr. clean. liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shhhh. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too. and last 12 hours. 12 hours? who studies that long?! mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs

for 12 hours with 2 medicines in 1 pill.

♪ every day it's getting closer ♪ ♪ going faster than a roller coaster ♪ ♪ a love like yours will surely come my way ♪ ♪ hey, hey, hey

♪ every day it's getting closer ♪ ♪ going faster than a roller coaster ♪ ♪ a love like yours will surely come my way ♪ ♪ hey, hey, hey babies aren't fully developed until at least 39 weeks, which means babies born even a few weeks early can have breathing, feeding, and learning problems. if your pregnancy is healthy, wait for labor to begin on its own. a healthy baby is worth the wait. pushing the limits. however, i didn't know the impact a brain injury can have. the risk got real for me after sustaining a traumatic brain injury while i was training for the 2010 winter olympics. you really need to educate yourself about brain injuries and how dangerous they can be.

after my injury the doctors were saying that the helmet saved my life. wearing a helmet to prevent severe traumatic brain injury is a must... and so is learning what you can do to prevent concussion. ♪ i've always said that i wanted to be remembered as a player that didn't waste a moment, didn't waste a day. i felt extremely blessed to have god-given talent, but at the same time i didn't take it for granted at all. and so if i could be remembered as a person that was born with a lot of talent but did everything he could to try to overachieve, a if he was

the 12th guy on the bench, that's something that hopefully the players that are now and players that come later choose to embody as well. >> all the fans and most especially families lost on a hillside in southern california is also a sobering lesson, a reminder to the rest of us. tomorrow is not promised. with the fierceness of a kobe bryant may we all know lean into life and love and family more, with all we have. that's "nightline" from los angeles. thanks for the company, america. good night.

about finding good food ind have school.y so, when my wife kat and i learned california public school children couldn't get fresh produce in the cafeteria, we took action. we partnered with local farmers, school kitchens, a non-profit. that program now serves over 300 million healthy meals every year. the difference between words and actions matters. that's a lesson washington dc could use, right now. i'm tom steyer and i approve this message.