[Bure]
Um, in all honesty, it still doesn't feel real. I feel like this is just like a... like a nightmare I gotta like wake up from. Now, I remember... I remember hearing about it and it was.. I just didn't know how to take it. I didn't believe it at frist 'cause people make up all types of shit on the Internet. When I got the call from my sisters, and I saw trust, trusted news sources report it.... That's when I.. I couldn't hold it in. And um, you know, I just didn't know what to think. I thought the world was coming to an end to be completely honest because every since I started watching the game of basketball, started playing for myself, your name has always been there. It was devastating to hear that you were really gone. As a fan, as a fan of the game, as a fan of basketball in general, as a fan of sports,. You know this was just, this was probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest loss we'll ever feel. 'Cause you were pretty much just getting started, you had a lot more to give this world post retirement and that showed. From the Oscar, people talk about the Oscar, people talk about, you know, your books... Your loss hit me harder than probably anyone I've ever cared for. i don't think I cried that much for someone I didn't know personally. The last time I cried like that was for my grandmother. And uh, your loss hurt me a lot. That pained for days, weeks and when I heard of Gianna going with you..... You know it's one thing when lose a legend, when you lose a daughter.. it's just too much. It's just too much to bear. So I just thought about Vanessa and I thought about the kids, your other daughters. I can only imagine how they're feeling to lose their dad and their sister and for Vanessa to lose her husband and her daughter in the same day... GiGi was gonna be, I saw her as this future WNBA player that would continue her father's incredible legacy. And not only GiGi, but the 7 others involved, including the pilot. I still don't believe it's real, I still don't. I'm still finding it hard to come to terms with the fact you're gone. And we won't be hearing a Hall of Fame speech from you this year. Congrats on that, by the way. It's just tough, it's tough for any fan, it's tough for any person to lose such an iconic figure that they've grown up watching. That's been a part of their lives from the day they picked up a basketball, they day they started watching basketball. It's tough, it's tough, it's tough. But anyway, um, onto these questions.

[Bure]
Now, I ain't gon' hold you, Kob, its been tough sleeping since that day. It main not be like my main focus at times, but it's still at the back of my brain. Um, you know, as you got older, when was the first you realized how important sleep was.

[Kobe]
My sleep habits were horrendous, to say the least. I've always had a hard time sleeping, you know. I couldn't figure out how to shut my brain off. So what made the lightbulb come on is that I went out there and played a game and I played like crap. And I was like "Why am I playing like crap?" because I've been practicing the same moves over and over. But yet, I couldn't execute them properly. I was feeling sluggish, I was feeling lethargic. And I knew it wasn't because of my training. Um, 'cause I train obsessively. Um, so then I started looking at other things. And that's when I came to the realization that "Ay, Kob, you're not 21 years old anymore, buddy" Like maybe the fact that you're sleeping 2-3 hours a night has something to do with the fact that you're playing crap. And that's when I started really evaluating those things.

[Bure]
Yeah, man. Um, I know you're a big meditator. When Phil came to LA, he made you, Shaq and the rest of the team, you know, meditate just to get your minds right, your bodies right for the game spirally, mentally. Uh, what is the importance really of like having a good meditation schedule and, you know, meditating regularly?

[Kobe]
I meditate everyday. I meditate everyday and um, I do it in the mornings and uh, I do it for about 10-15 minutes and uh, I think it's important because it sets me up for the rest of the day. You know, it helps me, it's like having an anchor, you know, it's um, if I don't do it, I feel like I'm constantly chasing the day. As oppose to being able to be controlled and dictate the day. Not that you're, you know, calling the shots on what comes forward. But the fact that I am set and ready for whatever may come my way, you know. I have a calmness about whatever comes my way and a poise and that comes from starting the morning off with meditation. To me, it's really just listening to my inner self. That's basically it. Like you sit in silence and you just allow these thoughts to come forward. And you get a chance to observe, um the self and things that may be lying beneath the surface that if you don't have that time to sit quietly on your own, you'll never pay attention to it. 'Cause if you think about it, like, the reality is we pay attention to so many things that are going on around us. We're constantly taking selfies, we're constantly taking pictures to post on Instagram and all these other things, we're constantly observing everything that's around us, but we don't take the time to really observe what's going on inside of ourselves and that's what meditation is for me.

[Bure]
That's hella insightful, man. That's crazy. You know, I'ma end this with one final thing, one final question to ask you before I let you go. Um, your nickname is the Black Mamba as we all know. Uh, the idea of the Mamba Mentality has been thrown around, you know, everything which was, in terms of which players in the NBA have it today. Whether that'd be Kawhi, Kyrie, Dame, LeBron. But I just wanna hear from your mouth, the Mouth of the Mamba, what exactly the Mamba Mentality is to you ;cause I really wanna solidify that definition for the whole world to hear.

[Kobe]
Well, I mean, overall the idea's a very simple one. The Mamba Mentality simply means trying to be the best version of yourself. That's the what the mentality is. It means every day, you're trying to become better. And it's constantly a quest, it's an infinite quest. So starting at the age of 2, when I first started playing the game and on and on and on, I always asked questions, I always tried to get better every single day, learn more...

[Bure]
Sorry, Kobe, you said 2?

[Kobe]
Oh dude I was..

[Bure]
2 years of age?!

[Kobe]
You'd be surprised, some people like my kids at 2 could do a lot of things. At 2, I could dribble a basketball, I could shoot a basketball in a Nerf hoop at the house. I would go to practice with my father, I would observe my father um, I'd sit and watch games with him. A lot of things I learned from just being around the game.

[Bure]
I mean it's only right that the creator of the Mamba Mentality would have it at such a young age, you know. But yeah, um, I just wanna thank you for taking the time out of your day to come and sit and talk to me for a bit, letting me pick your brain a little. Um, I just wanna say thank you for everything you've done for the game of basketball, sports in general, everything you've given to the city of Los Angeles, um, and being the greatest Laker that's ever lived. Thank you for being one of my idols growing up and um, you know we didn't really have that much time today, but um, hopefully we can do this some other time and hopefully it'll be a little bit longer. Again, thank you Kob, you-you the greatest, man.