LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant made his final NBA game on April 13, Wednesday. (Photo : Getty Images)
The 13th of April was a sad day for the global sports community as NBA player Kobe Bryant ended his glorious 20-year career in basketball in a game against Utah Jazz. But in China, where the Black Mamba is not far behind the country's son Yao Ming in terms of basketball fame, the sports community seems much sadder than the rest of the world.
The retired star's last game easily became a viral topic on the Internet as tributes from die-hard Chinese fans cascaded through Weibo and other social media platforms. The hashtag #ThankYouKobe was also one of the trending topics on Wednesday, the day Bryant marked officially his retirement.
Bryant became big in China in early 2000s, along with the explosion of NBA viewership in the country.
"Kobe's brand has been aggressively marketed in China, and his rise there was swift. He became China's Jordan, and he has earned a handsome supplemental income because of that status," an ESPN report said.
He first visited the country in 1998 to facilitate a basketball clinic. Since then, the star has gone to China consistently for the succeeding years, mostly on commitments with Nike.
Bryant also played against China in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where Team USA trumped the country's national team during the preliminary round.
Apart from these, Bryant has appeared in numerous local commercials. The latest is a Nike ad launched in time to his retirement. In the video, Bryant tells Chinese athletes and fans: "You love me. You love me because I'm Kobe, because I'm a five-time champion, because I'm one of the greatest to step on the court."
On the day of his last game, a dedicated Sina Weibo page for Bryant called KB20 had received 410 million views in just a span of one hour while the game is being broadcast, according to China Daily.
For five years starting 2008, Bryant's number 24 jersey became a bestseller in China, said NBA China.
Meanwhile, a Chinese firm in Zhejiang Province declared a "Kobe day-off" to allow employees to watch and celebrate the NBA star's final game on Wednesday.
"I feel sad that I didn't have a chance to see my idol in a live game, but he has now left the court," company boss Yang Hualong told Qianjiang Evening News in a CCTV America report.
"He is such an inspiration. Talented and hardworking," he added.
