Before the last game of his career, Kobe Bryant gave a final pregame interview with Lakers Reporter Mike Trudell, which aired on Time Warner Cable SportsNet.
Bryant chatted with Trudell about his plans for his first day of retirement, how much the fans meant to him and more. Below is a full transcription of Bryant's comments:
Q: On how he feels before his final game:
Bryant: Excited. I’m happy. I’ve had so many great memories here. I’m kind of going through the routine over and over again and doing it one last time. It’s pretty cool.
Q: On whether it will be possible to stay in the moment:
Bryant: Personally, you kind of have to. That’s how you really soak in the moment. If your mind’s wandering toward what’s going to happen and all this other stuff, you can’t appreciate what’s occurring. I try to stay in the present.
Q: On what basketball has taught him about being a father, and vice-versa:
Bryant: A lot of it has to do with patience and listening. That’s really an important part in athletics. You get so consumed by the process of executing things. When I really developed as a player and as a leader was when I was able to step away from (this). As a parent, that’s the most important thing.
Q: On whether his daughters understand the scope of his career:
Bryant: They do. But they’re excited as well. They’re happy. They’ve seen the hard work of the last couple years. And I’ve taken them to some of my 6 a.m. workouts. So they’ve seen me train. Now they’re excited, they’re happy. But at the same time, they can’t wait for me to jump on the trampoline with them on Saturday.
Q: On his plan for the next day:
Bryant: I’ve got to work out in the morning — have to. If I don’t start immediately, I’ll get kind of into this process like, “OK, I’ll start the next day, the next day and on and on until it’s an issue. The first thing I’ll do is get up and train. I’ll work out and then get to the office and get to work on some of these stories.
Q: On not taking his first day of retirement off:
Bryant: (My wife) Vanessa and I have something planned for the afternoon; kind of spending some time together. In the morning I’ll get up and I’ll train and I’ll get to work.
Q: On receiving praise from the NBA legends that he grew up admiring:
Bryant: That’s been a dream come true, because these are guys I’ve grown up watching back when they had VHS tapes; watching and rewinding, watching and rewinding for hours. To have a relationship with them is sweet.
Q: On whether he will be able to focus on the game itself or will be immersed in the setting:
Bryant: A little bit of both. Utah has beaten us pretty bad the last couple times we played them. My mind has to stay focused on that more so and make sure (since) this is going to be one, last time to give the fans something to remember.
Q: On what he expects from the Lakers fans in the building:
Bryant: This is going to be unbelievable. It’s a chance for me to say thank you to them. I don’t look at it the other way around. It’s a chance for me to say thank you to them, because they really pushed me. I watched this city grow up. They’ve seen me grow up. So it’s really a celebration.
Q: On his approach to his final game:
Bryant: The same way I’ve always approached it. At the end of the day on that court, it’s about matchups. It’s about defensive schematics, offensive schematics. You’ve got to look at those things in their purest form. At the end of the day, that’s what I’m going to miss the most: that process. It’s the strategy.