With the passing of Kobe Bryant, I want to show more of the influence he had on others. He wasn't only a basketball player but a father, husband, son, brother, and charity worker. He repped the purple and gold numbers 24 and 8 for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years before retiring in 2016. Before retirement, he visited China in 1998 and went almost every year. Proving he touched many lives around the world.
China is in love with the sport of basketball. So many Chinese people devote time to basketball, watching it or playing it. A young Chinese boy almost always dreams of becoming a basketball player or has a small team with his friends. Their obsession with the sport started around the time Kobe started to rise to fame. When Yao Ming was drafted first in the NBA to the Houston Rockets, China had another athlete to look up to. Bryant's time winning gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing only fueled their passion for the game and the star athlete.
Kobe Bryant at the 2008 Beijing OlympicsWhite House Archives
In 1998 he hosted a basketball clinic to help build his personal relationship with China. From then on he visited for an Adidas promotional tour in 2001 and then from 2006-2015 he frequently went for Nike promotional tours. During that, in 2013, he went to China to play against the Golden State Warriors for two exhibition games. He returned to give teaching moments to young and aspiring basketball players, proving his love for the game never left.
Kobe Bryant's illustrious career started around the time many social media platforms became available. The birth of Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, and Instagram spread Kobe's career through China like wildfire and so NBA China was founded in 2008 pushing his career to other fans around the world making him even more likable in China.
His death on Sunday rocked China and their outpour of mourning was seen all throughout the country. Many sent their mourning through the media under 'Mamba Never Out' and wore his famous jersey to show their appreciation.
Thank you, Kobe Bryant, for the positivity you spread throughout the world. Your story will live on in the players who looked up to you and through everyone whose soul you touched. We will never forget.
Kobe Bryant's farewellGiphy
As the legend himself would say,
Mamba out.