Dave Chappelle Reflected On Kobe Bryant’s Death In His New Stand Up Special

Dave Chappelle’s surprise stand-up special regarding police brutality and race relations hit the web late Thursday night and addressed a number of different topics, including one of his own most infamous jokes. But he also spent time addressing a major story from the sports world in 2020: the tragic death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash.

During Chappelle’s 8:46, which is a reference to the length of time George Floyd had a police officer’s knee on his neck while he died in custody, the comedian covered a wide range of topics regarding race relations. One of the more somber moments involved Chappelle discussing how he felt Bryant saved the country by distracting people from a different tragic moment in the spring of 2016.

Bryant’s last game saw him drop 60 points and upstage the Golden State Warriors winning a record-breaking 73rd game to end the regular season. It also happened in a moment where the city of Houston was reeling from a police shooting that killed five officers and injured others. Chappelle described watching both and how the intense interest in Bryant’s final game impacted how people reacted to the shooting of officers at a Black Lives Matter rally.

“The night those nine police officers were killed felt like the end of the world,” Bryant said. “And the only reason it wasn’t the end of the world, in my opinion, was at the very same time that was happening Kobe Bryant was playing his last game as an LA Laker. And as scary as all that shit was, I kept flipping back as Kobe was dropping 60. And he did. Oh, and he did.”

Chappelle made specific reference to Laura Ingram’s request that basketball players “shut up and dribble,” something many players like LeBron James have rebuked in the aftermath of her racist claim that athletes can’t be politically active. Chappelle pointed out that he feels that night he watched Bryant “dribbling and saving this goddamn country from itself.”

Chappelle then considered Bryant’s death in February, which happened the morning before the Grammys were scheduled at Staples Center. He said he skipped the ceremony because he was heartbroken his “hero” was gone.

“I loved Kobe Bryant. Died the day I won a Grammy, he died. That’s why I didn’t show up at the Grammy’s, because Kobe died,” he said. “They had both of his f*ckin’ jersey numbers hanging up. Eight. Twenty-four. That’s my birthday. I cried like a baby.”

You can watch the full 8:46 special above.