He mentioned how Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were there on the stage celebrating the franchise’s 16th and last championship, recalled that Lakers owner Jerry Buss, NBA commissioner David Stern, Lakers assistant coach Frank Hamblen and ESPN’s Stuart Scott were all there. All of them now dead. “I got emotional too, especially towards the end and hearing Kobe speak when he got the MVP trophy and how he acknowledged me,” Gasol recalled. “With him being gone, I got really emotional. It just really meant a lot to me. It’s one of those things with time that you learn to appreciate things and value things more, what you have gone through, what you have achieved, people you have had in your life, people you have shared special things with.”