“Where were you when you found out that Kobe Bryant was dead?”

- We just arrived from Nizhny Novgorod, and at the exit from the airport, by the way, I checked the phone and saw the news on Twitter. I immediately began to write to friends, relatives, acquaintances, to understand whether this is true. Alas, that turned out to be true. For me it was a devastating loss. It is still hard to realize. I don’t know if many people and the world will be able to recover from this in the near future.

- Yes, this is really grief. How did you feel after the tragedy? A week has passed and maybe only now people realize how great he was and how much he has done for basketball.

- I still do not want to believe that this really happened. It’s hard to put into words. For us and for many others, he was not only a great basketball player, but also a wonderful athlete, a wonderful person who inspired so many. Now he died - but he was only 41 years old ... And the disaster took away not only his life - his daughter died, and many families lost one of their relatives. This is a tragedy that, as I said, is difficult to put into words.

  • “For many, Bryant was not only a great basketball player”

“Tracy McGrady said Bryant wanted to die young.” Do you believe that he really wanted this?

- It's hard to answer. He is no longer with us, and I cannot speak neither for him, nor for McGrady. But I can say how much Kobe meant to me - and how much a strong and positive impact was exerted on me by what he had done in his life. As many have already said, I hope in my future work to remain faithful to his attitude, his legacy.

- Many people now write farewell letters to him. In particular, LeBron James promised to follow in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant and preserve his legacy. Did he leave a legacy only for the Lakers, or for basketball as a whole?

- Not just for basketball - for the whole world! If you carefully monitor him, his beliefs, motives and mood, the famous "Mamba mentality", anyone can find for himself in his words and in his life a source of inspiration and motivation.

- You mentioned the "Mamba mentality", but some do not know what it is. How to explain this?

“The best explanation, I think, is to try to make every day great.” Every day go on the attack. That’s how Kobe lived. Each time he went to the site, in everything that he did, he tried to be the best, to achieve the greatest result. This can be seen in his professional ethics, not only in basketball, but also in business. He showed the same principles as a father, and as a husband, and so on. This is one of the key aspects of the Mamba mentality: go on the offensive every day. If you want to succeed, it all depends on your training and professional ethics. And I think his mood showed it.

- That is, you need to fight and make every effort to be as good as possible.

- Exactly.

- Is there anyone among the current basketball players who reminds you of Kobe and who can follow in his footsteps?

“Kobe was special and one of a kind.” I don’t know if there will be more players like him, but I’ll say for sure that his life will inspire others and people will try to be like him. He himself said that his goal was to inspire the next generation and make them strive for the best. If you try to look for some positive aspects here, then we can say that after the tragedy, his life will become a source of inspiration and motivation for even more people. It is hoped that his principles will inspire others, both athletes and not.

  • “Kobe was special and one of a kind”

- He asked not to compare him with Michael Jordan, because he wanted to achieve more. Today it becomes obvious that he succeeded.

“It is unfair to compare anyone with anyone.” Each person has a role and everyone is interested in something of their own. But you can probably say that, yes, many are only now beginning to understand how great this player was. One can only hope that we will be faithful to his legacy and continue to carry his ideals into the world.

- The NBA announced the inclusion of Kobe Bryant in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Someone even suggests renaming the Staples Center stadium in Los Angeles in his honor. What do you think about it?

“I think his memory will be immortalized somehow, but I don’t know how.” I am sure that the city authorities, the Los Angeles Lakers, the association as a whole and the entire sports community will find a worthy way to honor his memory. And no matter which option they choose, he will receive universal support and approval.

- Now there are many calls for the NBA to change the logo, placing on it the silhouette of the deceased instead of Jerry West. Are you for or against?

“Like I said, they’ll figure out the best way to perpetuate his memory.” Now we need to remember the mourning families and take into account the wishes of the relatives of Bryant and other victims. But somehow his legacy will be immortalized properly. I don’t know if this will be a change in the logo or a change in the name of the arena, but I’m sure that every effort will be made so that the memory of him remains forever.

- Kendrick Perkins after the tragedy asked for forgiveness from Kevin Durant, with whom he had a conflict on Twitter, and hinted that he should forget about the past, concentrate on basketball, rally and be stronger. Do you agree with that?

- I generally agree with this approach and believe that the main thing is to love each other, because there may not be tomorrow. If you love someone and someone is dear to you - tell them about it. All these nonsense and petty insults mean nothing. Such tragedies show people what really matters. Sometimes such cases help us to take a sober look at ourselves and the relationships with people around us, and understand that the most important of them need to be valued.

To gallery page