Greek sports community mourns Kobe Bryant
Members of the Greek sports community paid tribute to Kobe Bryant following the passing of the basketball icon on Sunday.
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Tragedy struck the basketball community on Sunday when it was reported that Kobe Bryant was among the nine dead when the helicopter he was travelling in crashed in the hills above Calabasas, California.
Bryant’s daughter, Gianna, 13, was also on board, NBA authorities confirmed.
Bryant, 41, spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five championships and cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever play the game. Retiring in 2016, Bryant continued to have an impact on the sport in various ways, including his role as ambassador for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Bryant’s impact on the game of basketball, and society in general, was felt around the globe, including in Greece, with numerous Greek clubs and athletes taking to social media to pay tribute to the man simply known as ‘Kobe.’
Olympiacos BC, who presented Bryant with a jersey during his visit to Greece in 2011, tweeted that the club was at a loss of words and that the basketball community was in mourning.
Panathinaikos BC’s official Twitter account tweeted a picture of Bryant and his five NBA championships, while AEK BC’s account tweeted “RIP KOBE.”
Greek clubs weren’t the only ones to pay tribute to Bryant. One of the legends of Greek basketball, Vassilis Spanoulis, offered his sympathies in a tweet that also included a photo of him and Bryant from when the pair met in Athens in 2011.
Nikos Zisis, who battled against Bryant when Greece faced the United States at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, tweeted a photo of Bryant, while Panathinaikos guard Nick Calthes tweeted prayer emojis in the wake of the news.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who worked out with Bryant during the 2018 offseason prior to going on to win NBA MVP honours last season, appears to have been seriously affected by the news of Bryant’s passing with the Greek Freak’s Twitter and Instagram disabled by Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t just the Greek basketball community that took to social media to mourn the loss of Bryant. Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas tweeted a photo of Bryant and his daughter Gianna with two heart emojis, while former Greek National Team ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis tweeted a photo of Bryant in memoriam.
