Since Kobe Bryant died—alongside along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and 7 others—in a helicopter crash three years in the past at this time, I’ve heard from pals, together with ones I haven’t spoken to in years, on what looks like a weekly foundation. They’ve all, by happenstance, come throughout a clip, most frequently on Instagram or TikTok, of Kobe Bryant discussing foul-shooting approach, or sharing his methods of the commerce on protection. Is that actually you, they typically ask, with him within the video, asking questions? (It’s.)

The newest occasion was Tuesday night time, when a highschool classmate pinged me on Instagram. And there I used to be, in one other IInstagram reel, enjoying meek protection on Bryant, as he mockingly tells me, “don’t attain!” The person put an emotive piano tune over the motion, serving as a somber reminder that he’s gone.

When TIME produced that video, wherein Kobe Bryant offers me (and followers worldwide) a free basketball lesson, virtually 14 years in the past, nobody might ever think about what it will change into: a viral memorial to Bryant’s plain charisma, aggressive drive, and unabashed love of the sport. The video, designed to offer starting gamers and weekend warriors with tips about enhancing their hoops video games, was loads standard earlier than Bryant’s passing: the 7-minute, 36-second clip had amassed some 4 million views on TIME’s YouTube web page within the first 11 years of its existence. However within the three years for the reason that crash, that viewers has greater than doubled: the Kobe “Free Lesson” video now has greater than 9 million views, making it the third most-watched YouTube video in TIME historical past, behind a characteristic in regards to the 9/11 “Falling Man” picture (22 million), and a 40-second clip displaying “The Awkward Second When Vladimir Putin Acquired A Pet As A Reward” (11 million).

The Kobe video has attracted an ever larger viewers on social media, due to intrepid customers packaging parts of the clip throughout platforms. A private favourite: after LeBron James missed two key foul photographs late in a recreation early in his Los Angeles Lakers tenure—the Lakers misplaced—one smart man mocked him by superimposing LeBron’s head over my physique. “LeBron” listens intently as Kobe explains Foul Capturing 101.

The Pitch

Individuals usually ask me about how that video happened. Properly, 2009 was nonetheless the considerably early days of internet video, and TIME was in search of to inform multimedia tales (We nonetheless are!) Having coated sports activities for some six years at that time—and having handled athletes and their publicists—I assumed coaching and approach movies might be a lovely proposition for notable sports activities names. Athletes, as is human nature, don’t thoughts speaking about how they do the wonderful issues they do. And athletes, generally, dislike speaking about gossipy information of the day: who’s being a ache within the butt within the locker room, who’re the weak hyperlinks on the group, whether or not the coach is getting via to the gamers day-to-day.

Learn Extra: Kobe Bryant Had a Singular Affect on His Recreation and the World

This pitch had none of that. This pitch was timeless. Kobe Bryant’s free-throw-shooting approach could be simply as related in 2023, and past, as it will be in 2009. Dad and mom might watch the video with their children, and their children would watch with their children, and so forth.

To his eternal credit score, Kobe purchased in. (As did Oscar de la Hoya and Novak Djokovic and a slew of Winter Olympians prematurely of the 2010 Vancouver Video games. I typically joke about developing with MasterClass earlier than MasterClass, however missing enterprise acumen to cost folks to observe.)

An Off Day in OKC

So Vanessa Kaneshiro Garber, our video producer on the time, and I took off for Oklahoma Metropolis, the place we’d meet Bryant on a Lakers off day in February. OKC was a great spot, because the Thunder have been of their first 12 months in Oklahoma after relocating from Seattle. Kevin Durant was a second-year participant, Russell Westbrook was a rookie, and the group wasn’t superb—the Thunder completed 23-59 that season. So there was not a lot media on the town for this recreation. Bryant would have time to do an illustration, the day earlier than L.A. confronted the Thunder.

The Lakers labored out at Southern Nazarene College, and Vanessa and I arrived close to the tip of the L.A. follow session. In trade for the additional courtroom time, I wore a Southern Nazarene College T-shirt within the clip. Honest deal.

Bryant embraced the venture, which put us all relaxed. Nonetheless, if I come throughout as jittery within the video, there are good causes. For one, I couldn’t fairly imagine that Bryant was doing this. Right here he was, in his absolute prime—he was coming off an MVP season and about to win the primary of one other repeat pair of NBA titles—and he was all in. I felt much less nervous than caught in an excitable fog, figuring out that we had one thing good.

And for one more, at that time I had little on-camera expertise. The largest inform is my extreme head-nodding as Kobe speaks, which I’ve at all times rued. Vanessa gave me a professional tip earlier than the interview. In off-camera conversations, journalists typically use filler phrases—like “proper”—as topics are speaking, to form of prod interviewees alongside. Proper, proper, preserve speaking. However on digicam, the “rights” are a distracting sound for the viewer. So Vanessa instructed me to nod as an alternative. So I did heed her recommendation. However being inexperienced, I took it to an embarrassing excessive.

Learn Extra: Kobe Bryant’s Greatness Made Him a Hero to So Many Children. What Occurs When a Baby’s Hero Dies?

The truth is, for years after the clip posted, I had this masochistic behavior of often checking in on the YouTube feedback. Many remarks have been of an analogous vein: why did TIME choose a bobblehead to speak to Kobe Bryant? The interviewer is clearly a dork who by no means picked up basketball earlier than. That one rankled, as I did play in highschool and faculty. Did you not see that hook shot, over Kobe Freaking Bryant, on the 7:05 mark? (Be happy to observe, on a loop, expensive reader).

Lastly, quite a few years in the past as I used to be once more conducting this sorry train, one commenter—only one—got here to my protection, noting that I had in truth had a comparatively profitable basketball profession and was a veteran sports activities journalist at TIME. My delight swelled, earlier than sinking proper again into the pit of my abdomen. For I then noticed the deal with of my fearless advocate: SDevBronx.

I occur to know a lady with the maiden title Susan Devine—SDev—who grew up within the Bronx. The one particular person sticking up for me, on this imply web world, was my mother.

Last Ideas

A majority of the suggestions, nonetheless, has been heartening. The video achieved its targets. Commenters have stated they’ve watched it dozens of time or extra, and gone out to the courts to follow. Dad and mom have seen it with their children. Youth coaches have instructed me they ship it to their gamers. Weekend warriors took to it, hoping Bryant might give them an edge. Many individuals appeared to return to it after Bryant died, recalling how that they had watched the clip once they have been youthful, and seemed ahead to watching it with their very own kids.

And it’s all due to Bryant. “It was such a change for me in comparison with all the opposite celebrities we often interview,” says Kaneshiro Garber, now a contract producer in Hawaii, her residence state. “Most celebrities deal with interviews like a PR chore as a result of they’re promoting motion pictures or TV exhibits. It is smart – it’s often a gross sales pitch and they’re exhausted saying the identical factor again and again simply to promote a product. However for Kobe I might instantly inform how a lot he beloved basketball. To enter that a lot element with you: hand placement, physique placement, getting your head straight, the psychology of it. He was so respectful and excited about what he was attempting to speak. You would inform he completely beloved the work he was doing. He was actually absolutely current with you and he was comfortable. It was such a uncommon, satisfying day.”

Kobe Bryant was an advanced character. His passing doesn’t change that truth. He might deal with teammates with disdain. The 2003 sexual assault cost towards him—the case was dropped in felony courtroom after the alleged sufferer declined to testify, and a civil case was settled out of courtroom—clouds his legacy. You may’t declare to know somebody primarily based on a 20-minute interview that’s condensed right into a seven-minute clip.

However watching the “Free Lesson” at this time continues to be instructive. It’s one other reminder that Bryant, who died at 41, was actually simply beginning the off-court chapter of his life. The post-NBA profession was already displaying nice promise—Bryant received an Oscar in 2018 for Finest Animated Quick Movie, for instance—and the video shows his smarts and curiosity. He comes throughout as a basketball professor. Bryant was already teaching Gianna on the youth stage—they have been on their strategy to a recreation that tragic day on January 26, 2020. If he ever wished to show the sport to others, at any stage, he might have made a wonderful coach. Or almost definitely, chief of any form.

The conclusion of the clip hits tougher now. On the finish of the demonstration—and earlier than the 40 seconds of b-roll after the credit the place we’re simply form of goofing round enjoying one-on-one—I ask him if he has any closing ideas. “Have enjoyable,” he says, wanting straight into the digicam earlier than flashing the peace signal.

“See ya once I see ya.”

Write to Sean Gregory at sean.gregory@time.com.