Scottie Pippen: It still feels like a …

Scottie Pippen: It still feels like a horrible dream, but I wanted to share a few words about Kobe as we mourn losing him, his beautiful daughter Gianna, and the others who tragically passed. I remember when Kobe first got into the league. I told MJ during a workout, “This kid plays like you, talks like you, walks like you, he even sticks his tongue out like you. He’s going to be special.” Right away, it was obvious that Kobe was insanely competitive, supremely confident and as driven as anyone I’ve ever seen. In his early years, we were still in our prime. But you could see what he was thinking: “Y’all better than me now, but that’s not going to last.” Kobe wanted to be like Mike, and who didn’t? He modeled his game after MJ’s and aspired to be the best. But behind the scenes, Kobe was picking everybody’s brains. I loved his approach. He had so much respect for the game, his teammates and his competition.