Viewers. Im wolf blitzer in washington. This is a special sunday edition of the situation room. Were following very tragic, very sad breaking news out of california. The nba legend kobe bryant died in a Helicopter Crash in calabasas, he was only 41 years old. L. A. County police say there were no sur visors. Bryant is one of nine victims among them. His 13yearold daughter, gee ya gianna. Nick watt is joining us from calabasas now where the ntsb is on their way to investigate further. Nick, what more are you learning, first, about the crash . Reporter well, wolf, yeah, its going to take the 18 members time to get here. Theyll land maybe 10 00 p. M. The faa is here. So far very few details coming out officially as to what might have caused this. As you mentioned, nine people on board. The pilot plus eight. Among the victims we know were kobe bryant, his 13yearold daughter gigi and a baseball coach. As for the others, the sheriff is not releasing any names. He said that would be inappropriate. We have seen a little whisp of smoke hours later. It appears that helicopter hit the side of that mountain at some speed. We have seen in the last hour or so, we have seen camera flashes which we assume to be investigators on the scene. The first issue they had to deal with when they got there was putting out the fire that was ignited by that helicopter hitting the mountain side. Once that was taken care of, they then controlled the scene, and the investigators can come in and try to figure out what happened. One focus of the investigation will undoubtedly be the weather. Speaking to people around here, they said it was very foggy here this morning and cnns weather unit said that, in fact, it was 100 humidity. That means that air was like soup. Visibility would have been very low. Thats because there is a storm front moving past and also what they call the marine layer which we get a lot here on the california coast earlier in the mornings. So that is what theyll look into. Meanwhi meanwhile, wolf, disbelief in los angeles that kobe bryant is gone, age just 41. Yeah. So sad, indeed. Nick, thank you very much. Kobe bryants career was nothing short oflegendary. He was the youngest player in nba history at the time. Only 18 years old. He played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Winning five nba championships during his time with the team. He has two olympic gold meldals. In 1996, a legend in his own right, talked with kobe bryant a day after his first game with the lakers. Kobe bryant, last night you get your first start as a pro. How did it feel . It felt good. Going out in the starting lineup. I tried to keep a serious look, but i couldnt help but crack a little smile. Do you feel the palpitation . Sure. Youre so excited to get out there at the beginning of the game. I havent done that since high school. Right. Speaking of high school, how many people in the gym in marion . About 500 people. 500 . This seats 26 hours. 26,000 . What about shaq . Hes talking every day. Whether hes blocking my shots. Were talking and giving advice, pumping each other up at the same time. He really is a nice man. He is. Hes like my older brother. Do you have an older brother . Shaquille oneal. What a great guy. Im joined now by jay williams, a former player for the chicago bulls. An espn analyst. Thank you for joining us. So sad and tragic. Tell us a little bit about the conversations youre having right now with other nba players this evening, former players, current players, among others. Wolf, guys are just heart broken. Kobe bryant was the epitome of class. As a Young African american male who also wanted to be educated by going to a school like duke, i had an identity crisis growing up when i spoke one way within my own culture, i was considered a sellout. When i was in my own culture, i was called, i was being hood. And when i saw kobe bryant for the first time, i sat there, and i was in awe. Heres a guy who speaks multiple languages. Heres a guy who is a class act who is engaged, who wants to be a business mogul, and he never thought about anything small. He always thought about big. People will talk about oprah. He would talk about har poe studios. He just had this vision, and he had this relentless pursuit of excellence. The standard of excellence was always something that he persisted. And every time i was around him, he you cant explain greatness. It was something you had to feel by being in his presence. He will forever leave his legacy on this game by being the best to do it and one of the best to ever represent the game of basketball. And a role model for so many. So many people out there, because of his work ethic. First, lets talk a little bit about that work ethic on the court, in the gym. Tell us about that. Yeah. So my rookie year i only played one year in the nba before i was injured. We played against the lakers. I was trying to find myself. I was getting lost into the other outskirts of issues happening with the league at the time. I tried to get to the gym around 3 00. Our game was at 8 00. I wanted to make 400 shots. And i get in there, and who else is shooting in the gym by himself at the other end of the court . Kobe bryant . And so im thinking about, this is great motivation, i can have for myself. I takes me about an hour and a half. When i get done, i sit down in the same chair, i lace my shoes and i look at the other end of the court, and kobe bryant is going at the same pace he was at when i walked into the gym. I watched him for 20 minutes. I was saying theres no way this guy is going to be able to sustain when we play. That night he had about 35, 40 points on us. I found myself, wondering, having to ask him why he worked the why he worked. I said kobe bryant, why did you keep working that way . He said because i saw you come in the gym, and i wanted you to know that no matter how long or how hard you worked, you werent going to outwork me. And that line right there is something i carry with me for the rest of my life. That truly epitomizes who kobe bryant is as a person. A relentless pursuit of excellence in everything he did. Outside of basketball you said he was a role model. Talk about the enormous impact hes had. Forget about the Basketball Court for a moment. I mean, what hes being able to do with charities around the city of los angeles, the things hes been able to do eve within womens basketball. We had a conversation the other day where he was talking about someone potentially playing in the nba. He did huge wonders for the wnba and being a voice for womens players and also what he stands for, wolf. When he walks into a room, he was present. The best example of who kobe bryant was off the court was that a lot of players when you the mamba mentality like him, its easy to live in a world where you only think about yourself. But i was doing a game last night. It was the 76ers at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. Lebron james scored 18 points, and he surpassed kobe bryant in the alltime scoring leader list. And kobe bryant as soon as it happened sent out a tweet praising lebron james saying you deserve it. He was gracious and an ambassador not only for just the game of baseball but for the representation of who every young man or every person wanted to be. An epitome of class. He certainly was. And such a nice person as well. You got to speak to him over the years, you know, and he was just friendly. He was decent. He was honorable. A great family man. Wonderful. Wonderful kids. And our heart goes out to his wife and his daughters, and his 13yearold little girl is gone with him. Yeah. Wolf, and everybody asks, whats the legacy ultimately of kobe bryant. And i say his legacy is now in his three daughters that survive him, and its our job to make them remember the great memories that they have with their father. Thats all responsibility. And a lot of people can throw out accolades and 18time nba all star and all nba and those things sound great, but they dont matter. They dont matter. Were talking about a father, and were talking about a husband. And that is who kobe bryant is. And his other daughters, his wife, a very sad moment, indeed for not just basketball fans but for the whole country. Thank you so much for spending a few moments recalling what a perfect life kobe bryant had. Thank you for joining us. Thanks, wolf. We have video of lebron james arriving back in los angeles just a short time ago. Hes obviously like so many of us, emotional. You can see him wiping his eyes. Just last night he surpassed kobe bryant on nbas all time scoring list as we just heard jay williams report. Bryants last tweet, less than 24 hours ago was a congratulation to lebron james, and now heres lebron last night talking about the relationship he had with kobe bryant as well as the impact kobe bryant had on his own career. In 2020 02 2002, i believe i was playing. That saturday me and maverick drove to the intercontinental in downtown philadelphia, and he gave me a pair of his shoes which i ended up wearing that following night. It was the red white and blue kobes. I was 15, and he was a 14 and i wore them anyway. And i sat and just talked to him for a little bit. He gave me the shoes. I rocked them in the game. It was the same night we played oak hill against mellow, and i saw what he did the next night winning mvp here in philly. You im in a lakers uniform in philly where hes from. Its just its surreal. It doesnt make no sense, but the universe puts things in your life, and i guess when you live the right way or you give it everything to whatever youre doing, things happen organically, and its not supposed to make sense, but it just happens. Sorry, and im happy just to be in any conversation with kobe bryant, one of the alltime greatest basketball players to ever play. One of the alltime greatest lakers. The man got two jerseys hanging up in staples center. Its just crazy. Wellsaid by lebron. I think he speaks for all of us. Lets go live to the Staple Center. I understand, paul, a lot of fans are showing up to pay their respects. Reporter they are, wolf. So many laker fans. If you can see behind me, its a sea of laker fans. And this is quite a lot of irony here, because this is the night of the grammys when l. A. Usually gets all gus sied up and ready to see the show and now all these die hard laker facts are chanting kobe and gigi for husband daughter. And andre is going to the grammyingram michigans grammys as a guest, but hes here to honor kobe bryant. Your favorite memory. His last game. He went out at a high level. To see him gone at 41, its sickening. Its hard to stomach, to be honest with you. Reporter and what do you think the grammys should do to hon honor him . Im sure there are some last minute changes. Im sure theyll do something great for kobe bryant. Theyre in his building. Thank you for your sentiments. We understand, wolf, i heard from somebody close to the ceremony that the grammys will have a moment where somebody, and maybe its even the hostess, will wear a kobe bryant jersey among other things. And also pt has been carrying this sign around all afternoon to honor his hero, kobe bryant. Youve got to be getting a little bit tired, but what prompted you to come down and do this . A great man. All his memories, his shots, buzzer beaters. You name it. Everything he accomplished as an nba player and human being. No words for it. The greatest man alive. Was there any one play or moment that youll cherish . No. We all go through tough times but when he broke his akillys and he went through that free throw and still managed to make it . That says a lot. A lot of people play and receive a check. His mentality was playing and winning championships. He didnt care much about the money. He wanted to show he was number one, whatever it took. Thank you. Reporter what hes referring to is kobe bryants akillys tendon snapped. He finished the free throw. I was in the building down the street when he scored the 60 points. As a reporter, you see Amazing Things in your life such as a complete solar eclipse, but to see kobe bryant in his late 30s pull that off with those fans chanting his name and to be in the press conference after, he reflected on what he did. That was astounding for me. Thats why theres so much heartfelt thoughts about kobe bryant here. I think its the grit that really resonates with a lot of these fans behind me. Back to you now, wolf. So sad, kobe bryant and his 13yearold daughter among the nine people. Nine people aboard that helicopter that went down in the Orange Coast College baseball coach, 56 years old. His daughter, aslyssa, and his wife were aboard the helicopter with kobe bryant as well. So sad, indeed. They were simply going to a Girls Basketball game, gianna was playing basketball. His daughter was playing basketball, and kobe bryant was going to coach. They were going to go have fun on a sunday afternoon in the los angeles area, and it ended this way. Were going to have much more on this truly terrible news that weve been reporting. So sad. Well be right back. Its one of those moments. I think we all have moments where it seems like the day is never going to end. It feels like the moment youre in feels like the darkest moment to you. 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Kobe was also an amazing dad who loved his family deeply and took great pride in his daughters love for the game of basketball. We give our deepest condolences tova theres no words to express the pain im going through with this tragedy of losing my niece gigi and my brother kobe. I love you, and you will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant Family and the other passengers on board. Im sick right now. And then heres kareem abduljabbar. Its very difficult for me to put in words how i feel about the loss of kobe bryant. As a young boy, i met him when he was 11 or 12 years old. I was friends with his dad, joe. We were former adversaries. Joe played for the 76 ers, but he was a good friend, and someone that i shared a friendship. And its hard for me to understand now how this is affecting joe and his wildfife. So i feel my heart felt regret and prayers and my thoughts are with you guys. Kobe was an incredible family man. He loved his wife and daughters. He was an incredible athlete, and a leader in a lot of ways. He inspired a whole generation of young athletes. He was one of the first ones to leave high school and come into the nba and do so well. Dominating the game and becoming one of the best scorers that the Los Angeles Lakers has ever seen. I had the privilege of being there when he scored his 81point game. It was something i will always remember as one of the highlights of the things i have learned and observed in sports. Kobe, my thoughts are with you, absolutely. Rest in peace, young man. This loss is its just hard to comprehend. Go with god. Wellsaid, indeed. Joining us by phone, 5time nba champion, former lakers player, michael cooper. Thank you for joining us. Very sad moments for all of us. What was your reaction when you first heard the news . Thank you for having me, wolf. Its a sad day in los angeles as well as the lakers. I was just absolutely stunned. All the feeling went out of my body. Kobe was an icon in los angeles. In the community, an advocate for womens basketball. But this is just tragic, tragic loss. And as everybody else is saying, my prayers and thoughts and sincerest goes out to the family and all the loved ones. What was he like off the court, michael . You know, wolf, i had very nice time as far as meeting kobe, initiating him with the lakers. When he came to the tryout when he was 19, i was the one that had to work him out, and we were working out at morningside high. Our general manager was like make it tough on him. Make him work. I knew at that point in time that that young man was going to be a heck of a basketball player, and the things he accomplished on the court does not even compare to what he did off the court. Kobe was a godfearing man. He really loved his family. He was committed to the community. He had the Mamba Academy in thousand oaks. Giving back to the community as well as not just his money