Kobe Bryant, 41-year-old NBA legend and a role model for young generation of NBA fans, sports industry tragically lost his life, along with eight others, after it was confirmed that there were no survivors in helicopter crash at Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant was an undisputed legend in sport, not just basketball, and the news of his death has affected people worldwide. And his impact on the world has been felt and seen on social media, where tributes have poured in from every corner of the globe. Not least in England, where a number of Premier League stars have paid homage to The Black Mamba.
Throughout the two decades that Kobe Bryant played in the NBA, he was only ever associated with the Los Angeles Lakers. It also turned out that Kobe Bryant was also a Spurs fan. Not the San Antonio Spurs, but Tottenham Hotspur, the English soccer team playing in the Premier League, commonly called Spurs. Kobe Bryant used to visit Wembley Stadium to cheer Tottenham with memorable one being 4-1 victory over Liverpool. Tottenham gave Bryant a Spurs jersey with the number 24 on the back after the match, presented by the club’s own star player, Harry Kane.
Kobe Bryant said “Yes, it’s in my blood. My dad grew up across the park from White Hart Lane, my grand dad was also a Spurs fan and when you are born into that, it’s just a way of life.”
Of course, for the Los Angeles Lakers legend there was room for just one sport in his professional life and Bryant’s love for basketball — fostered by his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, himself a pro player — eventually carried him into a stellar NBA career that will one day see him in basketball’s Hall of Fame.
But thanks to Bryant’s early time spent living in Italy, his passion for soccer took root and remained until his last day. It’s hard to say that and we on behalf of premier league fans and premier league museum would like to wish deep condolences to his family.
As the least that premier league museum can do to make the legend Kobe Bryant eternal in our memories, below twitter section will always remain running in Kobe Bryant’s memory..