We just heard from your old head coach.

I know you spent eight years in the Spurs organization.

I want to get to your one on one matchups with Kobe in just a second because you can take us to a place on the basketball court that very few canned in one second.

But first Bruce, thanks for joining us.

Your overall reaction is what full of emotions.

Um, you know, I get home, get back to the country and my phone is blowing up with all these text messages in.

And then the rumble starts, you hear, you hear, you hear.

And I'm just full of emotions right now because we lost a great competitors.

We lost someone that that love the game.

And if there's anything you could you think about when it comes to Kobe is the fact that no matter what he was going to do, whatever he could, because you saw his love and passion through the game of basketball and all that he did, there was there was nothing in his areas where you would say, Oh, well, if he would have just worked a little bit harder here or work a little bit harder there.

It's about the emotions for me and then, you know, go a little further.

You know, now his daughters are without him, and and Mom is without her husband's mama's.

Without the daughter, it's It's just so many different emotions going on right now is, it's really hard to put into words totally understand.

I want to ask you about something that many basketball fans.

I think we want to get your unique perspective on.

When Kobe was Kobe, there was really nobody that could stop Kobe.

But when they needed a Kobe stopper and the Spurs needed that man, that man was you.

I was wondering if you could take us inside some of your great battles, your staunch defense, his Mamba offense and what it was like going toe to toe mano a mano with the Mamba.

Well, part of it is is the spirit of competition.

Whenever you're going up against one of the game's best, I think that it only raises the bar for you.

I mean, if you if it doesn't raise the bar for you, what are you doing out there on the floor.

But Kobe was a guy that early on in my career I didn't care for Kobe because I thought of the arrogance.

I thought if there's a guy that that walks around, he struck, might Michael and and all these other things and this is before we really started competing against each other.

I was in Miami, was in L.

A.

And so it wasn't until you know, during the game late again he got this rebound.

And for me that stood out more than anything else.

I don't know.

People might say a rebound, but he could dunk.

He could do this.

He can do that.

Yes, we are.

We all knew that.

But he also did the little things that were necessary.

And he took upon those challenges to trying to be the most complete player that he could be.

You didn't see him taking taking nights off like you know, when it comes to the rest situation.

So in those moments, man, that I just think about two guys.

It really didn't necessarily vibe early on, but through his work and I think through my work we started, we started to jail more from a respect place, and once that happens, you know you have to have a healthy fear of respect.

Are just a healthy amount of respect for someone when it comes to this game because you disrespect people, even when you don't we take for granted their talents stand up, getting the best as you of you nine times out of 10.

So to be able to go from not liking him to respecting him, and then it goes beyond the game I got to share.

This is one of the on his farewell tour.

You know, he didn't play in the game here in San Antonio, was in the back, and we sat during that time of the game and just talked about the game of basketball.

And he talked about how how we need to grow this game.

He talked about.

We gotta teach kids.

We have to teach kids how to play and teaching those fundamentals, And I mean, I was if I could have had a recorder in there, this kind of stuff, these are These are nuggets of life you just don't get.

You got all world player talking about how he wants to teach the game, not get somebody out there to teach the game, but get out there and teach the game himself.

And you saw with his girls team, You know, the way that he was continued to impact the using, and not just through basketball, but through his writing skills and through his mind, taking you beyond on the court.

I think that you think about those things with him, and it's nothing.

Nothing you can really say other than my goodness, what an amazing individual.

And that he was one more for you, Bruce.

From a great defensive perspective, we've been showing his 81 point game, where he had 55 in the second half.

We showed his 60 point game toe, walk out the door and close his MBA career.

Can you just take me inside the mind of somebody that has the ability to do that?

You are paid to not allow somebody to score 81 or 60 or maybe even half or 1/3 of that.

But from a defensive perspective to see that in 04 when Kobe was truly in the prime of his career and then they see the 60 game on the way out What do you got?

You know you have to respect again.

I remember the 81 point game and and what you want to say in the beginning, because it's just you don't want to give guys credit.

You want to say, I mean, but it was Toronto, but I didn't I didn't do that that day.

I remember Tony Parker and I was talking about that game.

I said by Gooden, Stony 81 I don't think anybody would be able to score something like that in the NBA game.

Now, even what what will had had accomplished this is anyone points for guard, 81 points where God was constantly attacking the basket.

We talk about guys playing downhill today, and I think so many will settle for some shot or or step back or Euro step in all this madness.

You look at what he was doing.

He was getting that ball on the block and getting to any spot he wanted and you could just see him growing.

He was not going to be denying that Toronto game and then on the 61.9 big, it's funny how great scorers state they feel like this.

They'll break the gang down in fragments of quarters and it'll just say I don't need to do is make at least seven shots in court.

You know, that's that's how they think 56 points.

So if he does that so it's just interesting to see how I think, how much of a genius he was on the floor to know where he could get to expressing who is playing against.

I understand that he's not going to try to physically pound somebody that's bigger than him.

He's going to turn and face up and utilize his skill work as far as this foot work is concerned.

So I mean, my my goodness, van, indeed, you know you're you're bringing such wonderful thoughts, my head.

But at the same time, it's the sadness there as well, because this is definitely one of those situations where we talk about someone being gone too soon.

That's what this is today.

Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube.