Mamba Memorial (Kobe Bryant Tribute)|ItsTikityBoo

I'm grateful to be here to honor Gigi and celebrate the gift that Kobe gave us all. What he accomplished as a basketball player, as a businessman, and a storyteller, and as a father. In the game of basketball, in life, as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank. He left it all on the floor. My son Shakir, my nephew Columbus, and my other nephew comes in crying and he shows me his phone and I snapped at him. I said, man, get that out of my face. Get it away from me. You know, we live in a world where anything could be photoshopped, anything could be hoaxed. I didn't want to believe it. And then I got a call from you, Charles, Kenny. Everybody called me and then we found out it was confirmed. I hadn't felt the pain that sharp in a while. The question is wanting to know every little detail about life that they were about to embark on. He used to call me, text me, 11 30, 2 30, 3 o'clock in the morning, talking about post-up moves, footwork, and sometimes the triangle. I'm like, what's going on? And then the final blow, his lovely daughter was with him on the helicopter. You know, we, every time I saw his lovely wife and his kids, same thing I do with Kenny's kids and D-Ray's kids. Hi, my name is Uncle Shaq. I don't know if they know me as a basketball player. It doesn't matter. I just, I am Uncle Shaq. I try to make them laugh and he would do the same thing. What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way I either play the game or the way that he wanted to play the game. He wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be. And as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be. We're not going to be able to joke at his Hall of Fame ceremony. We're not going to be able to say, hi, I got five, you got four. The fact that we're not going to be able to say, if we would stay together, we could have got 10. Those are the things that you can't get back. And with the loss of my father, my sister, and my thing, that's the only man I wish I could just say something to him again. Last time I talked to him was when we were here and I asked him to give 50 and he got 60. It's the last time I spoke to him. To do that, you have to put up with the aggravation, the late night calls, or the dumb questions. I took great pride, as I got to know Kobe Bryant, that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player. We talked about business, we talked about family, we talked about everything, and he was just trying to be a better person. And the fact that we lost probably the world's greatest Laker, world's greatest basketball players. Listen, people are going to say, take your time and get better, but it's going to be hard for me. Pretty sure Vanessa and his friends all can say the same thing. He knows how to get to you in a way that affects you personally, even though he's being a pain in the ass. But he always, you ever have a sense of love for him in the way that he can bring out the best in you. And he did that for me. But his attitude to compete and play against someone he felt like he could enhance and improve his game. To me, that's what I loved about the kid. Absolutely loved about the kid. No matter where he saw me, it was a challenge. And I admired him because his passion, you rarely see someone who's looking and trying to improve each and every day, not just in sports, but as a parent, as a husband. I am inspired by what he's done and what he shared with Vanessa and what he's shared with his kids. Kobe gave every last ounce of himself to whatever he was doing. After basketball, he showed a creative side to himself that I didn't think any of us knew he had. In retirement, he seemed so happy. He found new passions and he continued to give back as a coach in his community. More importantly, he was an amazing dad, amazing husband who dedicated himself to his family and who loved his daughters with all his heart. Kobe never left anything on the court. And I think that's what he would want for us to do. No one knows how much time we have. That's why we must live in the moment. We must enjoy the moment. We must reach and see and spend as much time as we can with our families and friends and the people that we absolutely love. To live in the moment means to enjoy each and every one that we come in contact with. When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died. Please rest in peace, little bro.