In what turned out to be one of Kobe Bryant's final interviews, the Lakers legend sat down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on Showtime's "All The Smoke" in December to discuss everything from what his world looked like removed from the NBA to his daughter's goals and how his role as an NBA fan has changed thanks to her.
Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a helicopter crash on Sunday in California.
To honor Bryant, Showtime is re-airing the "All The Smoke" episode on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. ET and throughout the week.
(Warning: Some language NSFW)
In interviews after he said goodbye to being a Los Angeles Laker, it never seemed that Bryant was missing anything. Rather, he clearly had gained new perspectives and had taken on new goals.
His daughter Gianna was a huge basketball fan, and while Bryant was not so focused on tuning into every game, it was young Gigi who got him back sitting on the couch to watch, he said on the "All The Smoke" episode.
"You know what's funny. So before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that's she's into basketball, we watch every night," he said.
She was developing into quite a basketball player, with hopes of making it big like her father. Bryant had no doubts she would carry on his legacy.
In the interview, he mentions Trae Young and Luka Doncic as two of his daughter's favorite players, and two guys she was able to watch in person and start to develop a friendship with.
After the news of Gianna and Kobe's passing sent shockwaves through the NBA world, Young, whose Hawks played on Sunday, made sure to honor the Bryants with his play. He started the game wearing a No. 8 jersey on his back in honor of Kobe and took an 8-second violation to honor him as well. Young finished with 45 points on 24 shots and nailed a buzzer-beater half-court shot before halftime that made everyone in the room feel Black Mamba's presence.
Doncic tweeted out a photo of himself with Gianna after her passing.
What you don't see in the photo is what went on behind-the-scenes, which was Kobe proudly taking a photo of his daughter, who was having the time of her life.
In videos of the moment, you see Kobe lean in with his phone, asking professional photographers to move out of the way so he can get the perfect shot, a classic dad move.
He spoke about that experience in the interview with Showtime, saying:
"We just had so much fun because it was the first time I was seeing the game through her eyes. It wasn't me sitting there you know as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you know it's like about me, and I don't like that. It was her, she was having such a good time."
Throughout his career, Bryant's life did not come without sacrifices.
In the Showtime documentary "Muse," Bryant touches on what it takes to achieve goals.
"If you wanna be great at something you have to make the inherent sacrifices that come along with that," he says in it. "At the age of 18 I knew that I was not gonna be stopped. this was my life."
Something Bryant always emphasized was doing what you love and doing what you can to be the best at it. He echoes this in the documentary saying, "We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make sacrifices that come along with making that decision."
The documentary will re-air throughout the week on Showtime and is also available Showtime On Demand.