The 41-year-old and 13-year-old died tragically Sunday when a helicopter crashed neared Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board, sources told ABC News and ESPN.
"This kid, man," Bryant said, laughing and smiling, during his "Jimmy Kimmel Live" interview.
Bryant had four daughters and said fans would constantly ask him if he wished he had a son.
"(Gianna will) be standing next to me, and it'll be like, 'And you gotta have a boy. You and V gotta have a boy, have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy.' She's like, 'I got this. No boy for that, I got this.'"
He also talked about coaching his daughters' basketball team and how he wanted to show the girls what excellence looks like.
"It's not that, some of them may want to play in WNBA, some of them may not, but we try to give them a foundation of the amount of work and preparation that it takes to be excellent," he said.
.@KobeBryant on @KingJames, the @Lakers & coaching his daughter's basketball team... #LakeShow #VOTE pic.twitter.com/nJGWNXKV52
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) November 5, 2018
Click here to watch Jimmy's full interview with Kobe.
Reacting to Bryant's death, Kimmel tweeted that the retired NBA star was a charismatic, hardworking athlete who loved his daughters.
"We will never forget you Kobe," the tweet read.
He was great,charismatic & among the hardest-working athletes ever,but what impressed me most was how deeply-involved Kobe was with his 4 daughters. Pray for them, Vanessa, his parents & his fellow passengers' families on this sad and shocking day. We will never forget you Kobe
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 26, 2020
He followed with the tweet, "So far 2020, you suck."
