good afternoon. it is 5:00 on the east coast. for those of you who are joining us, we're following some breaking news this hour. nbc news confirming retired nba basketball superstar kobe bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash. they responded around 10 a.m. local pacific time to reports of a chopper crash on a hillside in

the kala bass sass area. four others in the helicopter have been confirmed dead according to the l.a. county sheriff. among them bryant's 13-year-old daughter, gianna, his second daughter, who was an aspiring basketball player, the teammate of gianna's, the parent and the pilot. he was considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. he was an 18 time nba all-star. he won five championships with the los angeles lakers. he was expected to be inducted into the hall of fame on the first ballot this summer. he was 41 years old. joining us now on set, the host of politics nation, the president of the national action network, reverend al sharpton. he has worked with him and known kobe bryant for many years. mike peska, the greatest what ifs in sports history.

rev, one of the things you were reflecting on with us during the break was that you had a conversation of what individuals like this, super stars, if you will, that supersede the sport or that which brought them to fame and what death might mean to not only our country but the fans of that very superstar. >> the first thing that hit me when i got the news was kobe bryant was there when i did the eulogy at michael jackson, the pop singer's funeral, and he said it was very brief but impactful conversation. he said, wow, it's something when somebody of that kind of magnitude and fame goes unexpectedly. he said, reverend, you handled it well, he said, because how do you make sense out of that? and now we're dealing with this with kobe. as we're trying to pull pieces together and make sense out of what happened. the details we'll know, but the

magnitude of it. i thought about that conversation that he and i had in the staples center. >> there you are at that time. >> when you were speaking with him at that time and thereafter, how did kobe change over the years? you got a lot of personal conversations, special moments in our history. >> we run into each other at events. >> right. >> and the kobe that as he got older, you never had a long, deep conversation with, but you kind of would like speak. you'd notice that he became more -- less competitive, less edgy in his encounters. you know, it was like in the beginning that you run into him, it was almost like, yo, how you doing, and keep going. but he was a little more into talking, how's everything? what's going on, and move on. he was not a social justice activist like that, but you could tell that he was -- he knew what was happening. he wanted to be in the know and

he would say certain things i think in his mature years that he would never say when he was younger. he was talking about do the right thing. he started saying, there's a reason to stand up for things in interviews where the early kobe would just stay totally out of that. >> one of those things, mike, one of those very important issues for him that was difficult for him in his younger years but he took responsibility and he moved forward with it was his commitment to the wnba, his commitment to gender equality, his commitment certainly to his four daughters. >> i was listening to a podcast called "the knuckleheads" with ron artest. then i said, let me check in on the kobe one. he talks about the 13-year-old daughter who tragically died today. it's amazing. he talks about running the triangle offense with the 13-year-old daughter's team. he talks about things he would do to teach her to use her left

hand, things that he -- he was great with both hands. he would say brush your teeth with your left hand, eat with your left hand. the amount of basketball that he talked in relationship to his daughter surpassed everything else that he talked about with anyone younger than him. he reflected back, and you can see that in his eyes the future of basketball was through his daughter and through maybe women's basketball as well. he was just -- this interview and really imbibing all of this information about kobe, it really makes you realize that as much as sports fans we kind of nurse our hatred and it's kind of a fun way to supplement our emotions. when something like this happens it cuts through and everyone who ever said i wasn't a fan of kobe bryant is absolutely devastated because they know what he meant for the game. >> always debates between the nba and the wnba. we can go through that back and forth in terms of equality, pay, et cetera, et cetera, but what's very focused here is that kobe believed his daughter could

become him. >> yeah. kobe had a great belief in himself, and when you said that later in life he maybe lost a little bit of his edge, i think he just got socialized. i don't think he lost his edge at all. if you looked at that guy 19 years old, 20 years old in the nba and feeling that he had to outwork everyone, that was exactly the case in his last season in the nba and in his professional life as well. he was such a relentless competitor. he once told "newsweek" he doesn't believe in happiness. maybe later he would back away. it was amazing. as much as he was in the top 1% of basketball talent, he was probably in the .1% for mentality of greatness. >> when i say edge, i don't mean competitive edge. i don't mean he ever lost that. he never lost his edge. but i think that part of what helped to socialize him, i would agree with what you say is watching his daughter grow up

and getting in the game. and it became personal to him about the wnba, which someone of his stature in the game to stand with them and fight for them at the times he did was not a given. >> right. >> so i think that it was a real statement. and he wasn't just a guy that just say, yeah, yeah, it's nice, he really was a promoter and engaged with that. and i think the fact that it's very, very poignant when you say he saw his daughter being able to be him because that wasn't a normal thing for a lot of athletes to imagine their daughter. that's a great statement about gender equality and about how kobe bryant saw the world. >> what do you think drove him, to both of you here, to make that change? the kobe bryant as i was saying earlier in the last hour was 18, was certainly different than the kobe bryant that was 41 that tragically died today. >> well, you know him personally, but i would just say that as we mature, we sometimes

our apertures widen. so he had to be so narrowly focused when he was really the first guard ever taken out of high school. there were three or four high school players who went to the nba before him. i think literally four. they were always big men. it was always thought he could never make it in the nba. drafted 13th and traded. he wasn't seen as the next great thing. maybe a possibility. he was so relentlessly focused and probably didn't enter his consciousness that much. of course when you're a young male in the nba you're surrounded by that as your milieu. as you grow up and mature. let's not sugar coat everything he went. he went through -- i shouldn't say he went through. there was a rape allegation against him. he settled civilly with the accuser, but he did say he learned and grew from that experience. so the person he was tragically by the end of his life is both a summation in sum total of who he was all along but also a very different person from what he was 10 or 12 years ago. >> i agree with that.

as i said, we had encounters at social events. i wasn't one that sat and delved into him as others, but i would say life is what happened to him. as he grew up and in the game and outside and went through certain challenges like the allegation and all, i think it gives you a different view of the world and it makes you also understand that your superstar come superstardom doesn't make you beyond the reality of the social environment in which you live. also having children growing up can change you, and i think that all of that he handled well and kept his fierce competitive edge because he never disappointed us on the court. i think that he showed a growth curve in the -- off the court. >> yeah. >> but on the court he was the same guy with the same hunger and drive. i don't think i've ever watched a game that he would play where

he seemed relaxed or like that he, you know, felt that tvs a given. i'm kobe bryant. no, he came out there like he was that same kid that had something to prove. >> i remember the interview right before his last game and that's exactly what he was reflecting, that same energy despite he being an older interview, two years ago in 2017. he was saying, i can't believe this is going to be my glaims because i still have the same angst, the same desires. i'm about to play my final game as an l.a. laker. i want to bring somebody else in here. jerome williams, thank you so much. former detroit piston as well as a spur and i thank you for being with us. jerome, talk about kobe and the loss of kobe today and how you knew him. >> you know, just a huge shout of condolences to his family, to vanessa, his wife, his children,

his parents. i knew kobe ever since the draft back in 1996. i was a part of. and vividly remember him just walking around, you know, at the pre-draft and didn't really know anybody and a lot of the guys that we played against each other in college, we kind of had a little camaraderie and then he was almost like a little outsider in that sense. but his game, you know -- he ended up being the number one from that 1996 class in terms of, you know, where he started and where he ended up. >> jerome, just for our viewers here, we have two live pictures that we're sharing with you as well as our viewers. on the left-hand side you can see fans gathering at staples center downtown los angeles and there you can see on the big

screen in loving memory of kobe bryant. and that has been up for a good amount of time, and many are just trying to figure out what this means. we've seen fans crying. we have seen fans old and young reflecting in so many different ways. and the right-hand side hugs. the nba lakers coming back from philadelphia. wheels down just moments ago, and certainly when they were in the air, they had to reflect in a way they did not want to in that six-hour trip now landing at l.a.x. you can certainly see the grief that's being shared at this moment. so on the left-hand side, a sad moment for southlanders and fans of basketball all around the world. on the right-hand side you can see current nba players landing -- lakers coming in from philadelphia, getting the news potentially when they were in the air from a game today. and we'll continue, of course, to follow all of that video

coming in. jerome, what do you think it means as we watch this video, fellow l.a. lakers, finding out in transit after a game? >> yeah, it's -- it's devastating. i mean, this -- kobe bryant is an icon. he's an nba legend. he is a person that, you know, my son -- you know, we were at a tournament in california and we were in the -- he just got finished playing his game, you know, and just made the all-star team and he gets the news that kobe bryant, you know, is in a tragic accident and just -- it's just devastating because these kids, you know, looked up to -- you know, put that -- they want to be like the best and kobe bryant was one of the best. he was one of the players that people considered to be in comparison with michael jordan

and that is no small fete. his work ethic was impeccable. his leadership in terms of, you know, coming to the office every day. he never disappointed the fans because when they paid to see him play, they were paying to see greatness. they were paying to see someone who was at the top of their class and he -- he was just so competitive. he had to go up against guys like me and other great, great play e players. i heard you speak about earlier about his family and what he was doing sort of after the game, and he comes out to las vegas to support both of his daughters and one of his daughters was playing volleyball with -- against my daughter. and we'd have conversations

that -- and i just want to say that, you know, he was one of those guys that's just very special. he'll always be remembered as one of the greats. >> jerome williams, former nba professional, thank you, jerome. we're sorry for your loss of your friend, kobe bryant, and i appreciate you taking the time. >> thanks for having me. >> i'd now like to bring in kobe bryant's former lakers teammate, meadowworld peace. he joins us on the phone now. thank you for being with us. >> yeah. yeah. yeah. >> how did you learn about today? i know this is a tough loss for you. >> people text you and then, you know, just you hear one text and you're like, you know, maybe they're wrong. then 30 more coming in. it's confirmed, you know? it's not good.

not good. i'm not going to be able to talk. it was good, you know. yeah. kobe's great. we started out watching his greatness early, i was 19 years old, he was 20. we know one day he was going to get a championship. you know, just playing with him, watching him doing the majors stuff. focused guy. you know, he was very -- he was very focused guy. i remember voted offense, see all the books that he was writing. talk about stuff. >> meta, i've also got mike peska with me, too. he would like to ask you a question. >> hi. how are you doing?

i know that you're involved in many different projects outside of basketball, rap, writing, self-expression and kobe used to talk about writing as part of his process. i wondered if you guys had any conversations about that sort of stuff, things that weren't basketball and how to incorporate that into your life? >> well, you know, i mean, kobe was a writer. he's a writer, first. rapper, writer, but he can write books and he comes to the room and say, hey, meta, i'm about to come up to your room. put on the beat. we start rapping. you know, it was really amazing. just like -- he's not rapping to a current album, but he writes. he would just rap for like 30 minutes, 20 minutes. you know, he was an amazing writer. he knows how to put together words. he also knows how to say one word answers, you know? he's very efficient with his

words. you know, i just remember a lot of things about kobe. when we were playing, we were very competitive towards the end of our career. during the end of our career we had lunch together. our careers was almost over. in the trenches, go to practice, go to game. that was pretty much it. you know? very similar. i wish i could have spent more time in that -- you know, i thought that, you know, he was teaching me some things and i wanted to show him what i was doing and come to fruition. i didn't think that -- i thought we would have time. >> reverend al sharpton is here, meta. he has a question for you. >> you obviously have done a lot of work on the court and off the court. as you had discussions down through the years with kobe and toward the end, more when y'all were not as competitive, did he also seem sensitive to a lot of

things that he never really would publicly get involved in? if you had encounters like i had with him, he seemed to have a sensitivity that he really never was that public about. did you find that? because obviously you personified that and was involved on and off the court. how was the sensitivity level to you that kobe would share? >> yeah. it was -- you right, reverend. he was great to speak to. really good to speak to you. >> thank you. >> yeah, absolutely. you know, so he was more vulnerable at the end of his career. in the beginning he was trying to win his sixth title, fifth title. he was all business. practice was more intense than the games. at the end, have lunch, talks, have some drinks together. you know, whereas before during our championship days, there wasn't a lot of that stuff going on. you know, and then you see him

with his daughter, you know, he's put a lot of time in. he was so focused on basketball. people understand. people don't understand. when his career was over, i was so happy. i was so happy for vanessa, that she gets you for a long period of time instead of just after games. but, yeah -- yeah. >> god bless you and thank you for being on with us because you are a role model, too, and i'm sure it was a hard shock to you, but we wanted to hear from you because of what you represent and a competitor that also understood and bonded with kobe bryant. >> absolutely. it was great speaking to you. you just continue the great work, reverend. >> thank you. >> and if i can ask you a question that pulls back a little bit from the very deep conversation you just had. can you just give me a sense of

what it was like to guard the guy wherp an opponent? you would have to try to study for him. he must have been incredibly difficult from a mental and physical perspective to try to put a hold on. >> metta, are you still there? metta world peace taking the time. as he said to us on the way in, it's been a difficult day for him. >> yeah. >> he's been asked by so many who was kobe bryant. and he took the time. you could clearly hear, especially talking to you as often does happen, he thought of things in a different way in thinking about his good friend kobe bryant. >> the thing i think also that is very important, i heard someone say earlier, mike eluded to it, this was a guy who was not naturally in terms of his

own mind coming up to be as good and great as he became in the sport. and -- which made him work harder. i mean, if you talk about role model, metta used that term. here's a guy that said, you know, i'm going out here and make myself become great. it wasn't a given. and i think that that is one of the real messages of kobe bryant's rise is he would -- when you hear metta say he'd been in the office every day. he would -- it was legendary. he would over practice if there's such a way of doing that because he didn't take greatness for granted. some people are gifted and he didn't take it as a gift that he could assume he had. he worked at it. and if there was an exa a.exampf that, it was kobe bryant. he worked hard and made it appear natural, but he worked at it. never stopped working at it. >> we're clearly watching an individual mid arc who died

today at the age of 41. >> right. right. >> i want to in fact on that very point because we've been talking about his family and being taken away mid arc here, was the relationship with his daughter gianna and here's a little bit of sound on that very topic. >> only time i touch a basketball now is to shoot with gianna so -- but she would challenge me. >> i'm sure. >> she would. my best day, when we go out people will come up to us. it will be me and gianna, kobe, when you going to have a boy? when you going to have a boy? gianna's looking at them like we need a boy to carry on your legacy. i got this. >> that's good parenting. >> you saw the smile on his face reflecting on who gianna was to be. >> and the smile and the pride and the fact that he would tell the story in an interview which showed a father's approval.

i mean, it wasn't like something that he would just say cause you're having dinner, he wanted the world to say gianna say she got this which is his approval by saying that. that's a very moving tape, especially when we have such a sad day with losing him and her. >> yeah. so reflecting on what you just said about kobe being mid arc. i saw an interview where he quoted one of his high school teachers, mr. fisk from lower marian high school there in pennsylvania. mr. fisk used to say, had an effect on kobe, rest at the end, not in the middle. so i think he said that towards the end of his career. i'll rest at the end of his playing career, but when we really look at it, this was the middle of his overall career and he won emmy -- an emmy, he won an oscar, he was writing books and he was doing everything he's doing for women's and girl's basketball. i mean, he was so involved and was going to be a model of the entrepreneurial and artistic

player who used all his playing success and all the resources to become something really big in the next chapter of his life underlining the tragedy even more. >> and i said this earlier as the two of you know so well. he fit that archetype of the michael jordan of our time or the michael jordan as he was moving forward. mid arc taken away. we are waiting for the press conference out of southern california. we expect that any moment where we get the very latest details on the death of kobe bryant, the crash of his helicopter in southern california. what we believe it to be. and how it happened. what were the conditions? what were the details around that potential when we do have that press briefing. stay with us here on msnbc. short break. we'll be right back.

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movie, next thing you see a helicopter fly by low, losing control, two minutes later you hear that a great legend was in the helicopter. it's insane. a lot of the people, you know, in the community of los angeles look up to this guy because he came from nothing. that's literally like the american dream. that's why people are like why are people so hurt? he was that person that didn't grow up with anything and came up to something. so everybody's heart broken here. it is very tragic. you know, some hurt more than others as you can see. this is definitely going to be a moment in 2020 that people are never going to forget.

>> what did kobe mean for you? >> i was watching kobe for a long time since i was a kid. i was able to get a courtside seat ticket to watch him and know i got to see one of his last games is something i'll never forget and being able to come here and see this, you know, it was actually like -- it's a great pleasure. awesome moment to remember to tell family and kids after. >> so well said there by one of the fans in southern california. learning of the death of nba superstar kobe bryant. left-hand side you are looking at the microphones that we expect at any moment to hear from officials in southern california that will share potentially more details on what happened today, 10 a.m. local time roughly in southern california is when it was believed that this helicopter did crash in the rolling hills of calabassas, california. in that plane kobe bryant as well as his daughter gianna, one of her teammates, a parent and

the pilot potentially moving from a practice, potentially coming from his basketball academy going home. it is unknown at this moment. we do expect to get more details from law enforcement in southern california. be watching that. also, we're just hearing that the ntsb has scheduled a briefing in about 45 minutes. when that happened, if we have our cameras ready, we will go to that as well. so, again, we're waiting for the microphones on the left from southern california very shortly and then 45 minutes later the ntsb on what they know of this helicopter and the crash. now joining us kabitha davidson, sports writer of the athletic. thank you for being with us. >> yeah. >> the details coming in right now, what are you learning about the passing of kobe bryant and the details around it? >> you know, it's really hard to

kind of wade through the array of rumor and details that you don't know are -- what's true and what's not. there are a lot of things unsubstantiated out there. we need to be careful what we report. i want to make it clear that this was something that was reported and spread, rick fox, former laker player, was not on the helicopter. i think we're all kind of trying to wade through the details coming out. we're definitely waiting for the press conference. >> we are confirming at nbc news and msnbc, kobe bryant, his 13-year-old daughter gianna bryant, a teammate and parent and pilot were in the crash. we hope to get more information on how this catastrophe happened in the south land. when we look at kobe bryant and his relationship, i was just looking at some of the responses

here. for instance, the former president, barack obama tweeted this, and it's well known that the former president, a big fan of basketball and of kobe. kobe going to the white house after being the mvp. kobe was a legend, the president tweets, on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act to lose gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. michelle and i send love and prayers to vanessa and the entire bryant family on an unthinkable day. what was the relationship between the former president and kobe? >> so as we know, barack obama was a huge basketball fan. he took a lot of pride in his high school game and he was unabashed about how much of an nba fan he was. the reverse was also true for a lot of nba players to see the

first black president embrace their sport and have so much meaning and such a meaningful relationship with the league. it really did create this amazing symbiosis. you bring up gianna, gigi as her nickname was. the first thing we did was go down to staples center. there's a growing crowd of people with flowers and memorials, but one of the interviews that we did with a fan -- >> we have to interrupt you. we're going live to southern california. the latest information coming from a briefing. let's listen. >> the l.a. county fire chief darryl osby and then we will have them at the podium. thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is darryl osbe and i'm the fire chief of the los angeles county fire department. i want to thank you for coming here to today's briefing of the

willow incident. today shortly before 10:00 at 9:47 a.m. the los angeles county fire department received a 911 call of a potential helicopter down and a brush fire at the intersection of loss verges road and willow glen street in the city of calabassas in los angeles county. upon arrival our firefighters discovered approximately 1/4 acre brush fire that resulted from a crash on the hillside. the los angeles county fire department initial response was 15 pieces of asperatus and 56 personnel that consisted of paramedics, engine company, heavy rescue, truck company, hand crews and aircraft and a chief officer to oversee the incident. upon arrival during the incident and upon arrival of the

sheriff's department our two respective departments entered into unified command to handle this incident. our firefighters on scene indicated that there was a debris field and steep terrain with a quarter acre brush fire that was occurring at the time. our firefighters hiked into the accident site with their medical equipment and hose lines to extinguish the stubborn fire as it included the brush fire, debris from the helicopter and the fire also included magnesium, which is very hard for our firefighters to extinguish because magnesium reacts with oxygen and water. in addition to our firefighters hiking into the incident, we had one helicopter flying to the incident with firefighter paramedics on board. those paramedics were hoisted down to the incident early into

the incident. they did a search of the area for survivors. unfortunately, all the survivors on board were determined to have been perished. firefighters and hand crews worked to extinguish the fire while carefully preserving the incident for investigation. currently the investigation is still ongoing. i would like to turn this over to my sheriff to continue the press briefing. >> thank you, chief osby. personnel from los angeles sheriff responded to the scene of the crash site and assisted the fire department and we've established a containment area and now our aero bureau has a handle on traffic or aircraft accidents, however, when there's a fatality, then it switches to

the national transportation safety bureau, the ntsb and the federal aviation administration, faa. the faa is on scene and assisting. we're awaiting the arrival of the coroner's office to assist in the recovery of the remains. as the chief indicated, there were no survivors. we have a manifest that indicates there was nine people on board the aircraft. the pilot plus eight individuals. there is wide speculation who the identities are, however, it is entirely inappropriate to identify anyone by name until the coroner has made the identification through their very deliberative process and they made notifications to next of kin. and it would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one has perished, that you learn about it from tmz. that is just wholly inappropriate so we're not going to be going there. we're going to wait until the coroner does their job and we're assisting the families of those who believe they have been impacted and it's a tough

process. and our hope goes out to all those who were on board the aircraft and god bless their souls. so at this point in time we have nothing that we can add until the coroner does their job and we'll be making those notifications when we have that information and we know the next of kin have been notified, then we can releasing lease the information publicly. you'll be notified in subsequent announcements. >> a manifest says 9 -- >> do we have confirmation of nine bodies at the scene? >> that is our belief, yes. >> so we realize at this point there are so many questions. there's a lot of information out there and, again, we understand, you know, there's a lot of information that's floating, but we certainly have a responsibility and an obligation out of respect of course to the families. this is a very difficult time for us all. for the city, we have the mayor here, the city council. we thank them for being here. they wanted to pass on a message for those in the community that

wasn't to gather here, if you do, you are welcome to join others at the park here in calabassas. the cross streets. the sheriff's information bureau will be sending out updates as to when there will be, if there is one, a press advisory out, a notification of another press conference or any other updates through our twitter so please look for that. we thank you so much for being here today and again, thank you for your time. >> sheriff, we have more -- >> just a question -- >> ceiling off the area. we know the ntsb has to be there to do their thing, is the public going to be able to get anywhere nearby or is a stretch going to be shut down for an indeterminant period of time? >> it remains shut down. >> how long? >> is there heavy fog in the area?

>> just finishing a press briefing in southern california. we heard from the fire chief as well as the county sheriff. what is new that you heard along with us is that now, according to the county sheriff, there were nine people on board the helicopter that went down right before 10 a.m. local time pacific time. before this it was understood and confirmed that five at least were on the helicopter. we just heard from the county sheriff that there are nine and nbc news being able to confirm according to reporting that the five names that are part of that nine kobe bryant, his daughter gianna 13, one of gianna's teammates, a parent and a pilot. there are four others that are

not yet identified and the county sheriff says, as always, make sure that they will wait to identify who was on that plane. they were looking at the manifest according to the county sheriff. nine individuals and all nine believed to have perished in that helicopter crash. we also heard from the fire chief is that the 911 call came in at 9:47 a.m. pacific time. that 56 personnel were then deployed to try to recover the wreckage and as well put out a quarter acre brush fire. it is well known southern california brush is quite dry. add into that magnesium which is difficult to put out and, therefore, he was saying, the fire chief, that it did take a bit of time to not only put out the fire but then get to the wreckage itself because of magnesium and the dry brush. but what is new this hour at

5:42 eastern, 2:42 pacific time is that unfortunately the number now goes up to nine individuals on the aircraft where it was believed before at least based on confirmable information that there were five. and so the worry, mike, and the rev still with us, you know, mike is in a way you don't want to know who the other four are because it only hurts more, but we will find out, as we get more information, from local officials because with gianna on the plane -- excuse me, on the helicopter, it's all going to be a close group. >> yeah, you would think. there can't be good news out of this. i was thinking, we've so often lost great athletes to crashes, air crashes, helicopters. we've lost thurmond mond mobbeo.

it reminds me of roberta clementi in 1972, he was a great baseball player. he was doing charity work to bring relief aid to survivors of a natural disaster. so it reminds me of that because it is the person who transcended his sport. the person who meant so much to a community. and also in 1972 baseball really was the national pastime. and i think that the kobe bryant tragedy and all those other people who died on that helicopter, the outpouring and the concern shows where basketball has become as really central to our national consciousness. the fact that kobe bryant represented what he did to so many people tells us something about the sport of basketball, a sport that he helped create. there is on a human level, tragedy is tragedy, but on the level of what this might mean societally, the sort of wound that this might leave, i think that it is even bigger than the

horrible details of nine who have perished in this crash. >> i couldn't agree more. i think when you -- first of all, when you hear the sheriff saying that it is so insensitive to -- for a loved one to hear from tmz about a death, so i think they're being very responsible, as much as all of us may be curious as to whoever else was on the plane. but that's the sensitivity. i mean, as a minister i deal with people all the time. i was in fact leaving a memorial service in new haven, connecticut, on a police matter when i heard about kobe today. people forget, you are dealing with human beings and grief and people should respect the families, but i also think it is extremely important that people understand the mainstreaming of basketball, how it has become that central sport in america and how much kobe became so

important. i mean, you haven't just a celebrity, he helped move a game which was always respected into the middle of american psyche, which is why him being the victim of an accident and his daughter is wall to wall national television. you have a lot of people that can go through airports and sign autographs that we may mention in a show or even do a segment in a show, but it's wall to wall which showed who kobe was. and people are gathering and crying and his driver, his uber driver crying. people all over the country crying and that's the impact he had. >> i'm thinking of the young basketball fans, i was relating this earlier today when i walked outside of my apartment to come here to cover this breaking story, and there was a father with his young teen daughter and young teen son and they stopped right at the bottom of my stoop

and dad's looking at his phone and he looks up to his daughter and looks up to his son and says, stop walking for a second, i have something to share with you. he shares with them the passing of kobe bryant. >> wow. >> and that is a reflection of what it means to so many young folks. this is important. i must tell you even though you are 12 and you are 14 years old, he knew that kobe bryant was important to them. and one of those, kavetha, items as we share our personal experiences, i go back to the importance that mike and the rev are talking about, about this league and of players like kobe bryant and what that might mean, whether it's death or the threat of death, magic johnson as a young fan of the nba, i hear that he's contracted hiv. in those years it was a death sentence. and many at the time you remember when magic got diagnosed with that. >> oh, yes. >> we thought it was the beginning of the good-bye of magic johnson and that was a

tough -- that was another time of a national story and it reflected the importance of individuals like them, kavetha. >> reporter: yes, absolutely. you know, we're having this entire conversation about kobe bryant transcending the nba and how the nba itself is a sports league that has now become arguably america's league. just this past tuesday we mourned the death of commissioner david stern. >> right. >> reporter: who was instrumental in exactly this process that you described, of magic johnson coming out with this announcement and him becoming this larger than life figure and this beloved figure even further from the game. kobe bryant was this new crop of super stars that david stern helped usher in and helped oversee in this era where the nba was really struggling with its image. you can go down the line of super stars, including kobe, who have built the nba into what it

is now where these guys are rap stars, fashion icons and, you know, really just bigger than the sport and this is a loss that we'll feel beyond just the world of sports. >> i'm just getting in a statement from duke's basketball coach on the passing of kobe and gianna bryant. coach k. and the relationship they have, very well known. i'll read from it right now. quote, we have tragically lost one of the greatest sports figures of our time with the passing of kobe bryant. he was an incredibly gifted person who is universally respected. he was in constant pursuit of doing something special and there will never be a greater warrior in our sport. i had the amazing honor of coaching kobe in the 2008 and 2012 olympic games and i will always remember how much he cherished representing his count country in a first class manner playing the game that he so loved. the game of basketball is better today because of kobe and he

deserves eternal appreciation for that. this is a devastating loss. many even more tragic by the passing of his daughter, gianna, and all others on as we genuinely loved and admired kobe. we expect -- we extend our deepest sympathies to his wife vanessa and their daughters natalia, bianka and capri. it's tough as we think what coach k. is thinking, the days he got to coach the great kobe. >> if kobe went to college, he would have gone to duke, he says. he was between duke and carolina. and carolina backed off a little bit. and he said he would have gone to duke. you know, i was listening to what you were saying, reverend al, what kavitha was saying, the centrality of the nabl. i don't know if viewers who might not be huge basketball fans realize this when we had

metta world peace on. he was the number one villain in the nba for years. there were reasons for that there were reasonable. also, there was a way that the sporting public, that the press, looked at nba players and pigeon holed them and maybe dealt with them in terms of stereotypes. i do think guys like kobe bryant nurtured along by david stern and especially the current commissioner adam silver have been allowed to flourish and show themselves for who they are. the nba is a sport where you can see the players. you see them in their shirt sleeves. they're vulnerable. this is the reason why we have attachments to these players. i think some of the other sports leagues could take a lesson from that. how it's not just the fame of kobe bryant, that that father talked about and resonated with his kids. it's how meaningful he was. and that, the difference between being famous and being meaningful is something that we're considering now. >> just in, also, to msnbc. i want to share with you a

statement from nba commissioner adam silver on the passing of kobe statement. he says, the nba family is devastated by the tragic passing of kobe bryant and his daughter gianna. for 20 reasons, kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning. he was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game. with accomplishments that are legendary. five nba championships, an nba mvp award, 18 all-star selections and two olympic gold medals but he will be remembered most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete to the very best of their ability. he was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations of players. taking special delight in passing down his love of the game to gianna. we send our heartfelt condolences to his wife vanessa and their family. the lakers organization and the entire sports world. you know, rev, we were watching

from the current nba commissioner, just in to us, adam silver. rev, earlier, we were watching some of the video of the l.a. lakers, just landing at l.a.x. and they were being embraced and they were crying. and it was because they learned of this news most likely when they were in the air. that their beloved kobe bryant had died in a helicopter crash. and when we look at the reaction, the 20 reasons, the 20 years he played in the nba, it's just the span that he had had. jersey, as you know so well, so popular outside of the united states, in china, for instance, as he was clearly an ambassador for basketball. and the commissioner reflecting on that very idea, to all those he inspired to pick up a basketball. some not so good, some better. >> right. i think adam silver, who i know well, put it right. and when you think of the 20 years, and you think of, as we watch those players come off the

plane and head to the bus or whatever was going to transport them, some of them literally grew up wanting to be kobe bryant. and i think -- >> and they got to play with him for a moment. >> then they got to play with him, which i'm sure was an honor. that's why it's very personal. that's why mike and i are emphasizing the impact is more important than just the celebrity. because we have a lot of celebrities, but there comes every now and then people that break through in another kind of way to people. and it's almost, you are almost incapable of describing it, but kobe had that kind of impact on our culture. and sometimes we don't realize it until we face some tragedy like this that they really did like wow, i'm really moved and didn't understand that that meant that much. but he does. he has that kind of impact. >> i want to share with you this just coming in from michael

jordan, who we have alluded to in our coverage today. the statement from him. i'm in shock over the tragic news of kobe's and gianna's passing. words can't describe the pain i'm feeling. i loved kobe. he was like a little brother to me. we used to talk often, and i will miss those conversations very much. he was a fierce competitor. one of the greats of the game, and a creative force. kobe was also an amazing dad. who loved his family deeply. and took great pride in his daughters' love for the game of basketball. yvette joined me in sending my deepest condolences to vanessa, the lakers organization, and basketball fans around the world. michael jordan, in a statement on the passing of kobe bryant. also reflecting, doc rivers. somebody very relevant to this story. here's what he said on the passing of kobe. >> the news is just devastating to everybody. who knew him. known him a long time.

and you know, he just means a lot to me, obviously. you know, he was such a great opponent. you know. it's what you want in sports. he had that dna that very few athletes can ever have. you know, the tiger woods, the michael jordans. you know. it's funny. i was getting to know him more since he retired. yeah, this is a tough one. will the hilton app help us pick the starters? great question, no. but it can help you pick your room from the floor plan. can the hilton app help us score? you know, it's not that kind of thing,

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coast. i'm richard lui. for those of you joining us this hour, we're following breaking news. retired nba basketball superstar kobe bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash in california. los angeles county sheriff's deputies responded around 10:00 a.m. pacific time to reports of a chopper crash on a hillside in the calabasas area. according to the l.a. county sheriff, the manifest indicated there were nine individuals on that aircraft. there were no survivors. among them, bryant's 13-year-old daughter gianna who was herself an aspiring basketball player. as well as a teammate of hers. the