Kobe Bryant made a total of 60 points in his farewell NBA game. (Photo : Getty Images)
Chinese fans of America's National Basketball Association (NBA) sent sentimental posts through their respective Weibo accounts as ace player Kobe Bryant ended his career with a 60-point win in his last NBA game on Thursday, the Global Times reported.
"Man, I can't believe how fast 20 years went by, this is crazy," Bryant, who was first drafted by the Charlotte Hornets (now known as the New Orleans Pelicans) back in 1996, remarked after the Los Angeles Lakers emerged victorious.
On Sina Weibo, posts with the hashtag "Kobe's last game" were able to garner at least 21 million accumulated page views, majority of which state their opposition to the Lakers player's retirement.
One of the netizens who considers Kobe as his "basketball hero" posted: "As a 30-year-old man, I cried the whole night for Kobe's departure, as he also took away my childhood memories and my youth. Thank you for giving me power when I was down."
Meanwhile, in Kobe's official Sina Weibo page, fans have also expressed their affection. For instance, a farewell video posted by the NBA superstar has pulled off more than 120,000 likes last Thursday.
The historic last game of Kobe even earned support from Chinese companies, who made arrangements for their staff and employees to watch the match.
"I like Kobe very much, and so do my employees, so I've decided to give them a holiday to stay home and watch his farewell game," Wang Renfang, manager of a Shandong Province-based Internet firm, told the Global Times.
"We hope our staff can learn professionalism from him by watching the game," a manager surnamed Wang from another Internet company shared. The manager revealed that his firm also arranged for their employees to catch the NBA player's farewell game.
Since he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe has been on the basketball limelight with his skills on the court. With his basketball fame, he also got endorsements from various products.
