Conan O’Brien is joining in with the rest of those who have sweet memories of Kobe Bryant prior to his death, and the late night host says the NBA legend was a “terrific guest” when he appeared on CONAN. The world was shocked when they found out the devastating news that Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others were tragically killed in a helicopter crash on their way to basketball practice early Sunday morning in Calabasas, California. Now, celebrities and fans alike are sharing their thoughts and memories that they have of Bryant.
“Many of the people who work here at our show have grown up in this city, Kobe was their hero,” O’Brien said. “I’ve been talking to a lot of people on my staff today and they’re just devastated. Just listening to the coverage, so much is rightly being said about Kobe’s incredible gifts as an athlete and his prowess on the basketball court. But what I wanted to do is take a moment here at the top of the show to highlight another aspect of Kobe’s talent: he was naturally very funny and charming. He really was, a terrific guest. A superstar does not have to be a great guest, he just was. Whenever he was on our show he was a joy to talk with and he always had the audience in the palm of his hand. That’s the guy that I’ve been thinking about these past 24 hours and it’s that memory I would like to share with you tonight.”
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O’Brien then showed past clips of when Bryant was on his show and they discuss Bryant’s “game face,” while O’Brien asks him what it’s like to be him in the city of Los Angeles. The host later jokes about Bryant going to In-N-Out Burger, which is a popular fast food chain in California, and how nice it must be assuming he’s greeted with nothing but cheers. Bryant joked, “As long as they get my burger right, it’s all good.”
Following that, O’Brien asked if Shaquille O’Neal gives Bryant a hard time on the court, and Bryant joked by saying no and even if he did, he probably couldn’t understand him anyways.
O’Brien went on to show a few more clips as he reminisced on sweet memories he had with the basketball legend.
Bryant, his daughter, along with John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester and Ara Zobayan were all on their way to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy when the helicopter crashed, killing all nine victims. As news continues to develop, Bryant’s wife Vanessa Bryant has not said anything just yet, but did change her Instagram profile photo to a sweet photo of her husband and daughter.
