Kobe Bryant had both his numbers, 8 and 24, retired by the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Paul Pierce sat down with Scott Van Pelt of ESPN and shared some memorable moments he had with the Black Mamba.

Pierce said that the first things that come to his mind when talking about Kobe are his “competitive fire” and “work ethic.”

“He was able to influence an entire generation with his fire and passion” Pierce said. “We had just come off the [Michael] Jordan era and we were like who’s next to hold the torch, who’s going to be that guy with the flare and showmanship along with the fire, and it was him.”

Pierce said that Kobe was able to take the torch from Jordan and go out there and compete at a level we thought we wouldn’t see again after Jordan. Pierce says that winning five championships like Kobe did in that generation wasn’t the easiest.

Pierce also said that in his favorite moment with Kobe, Kobe had the hot hand and took 41 shots that night. Pierce agrees Kobe “got him” that night but guarding someone who took that many shots was one of the most challenging defensive assignments that Pierce has faced.