By Giorgos Orfanakis/info@eurohoops.net
This may be his last NBA season, however Kobe Bryant wants his career to finish in the international courts. As he said to Associated Press his wish is to play in the Rio Olympics.
“I would like to play,” Bryant said. “I think it’d be awesome. A beautiful experience. I’m a global kid. I grew up in Italy, I know a lot of athletes from different parts of the world, from different sports. It’d be great to play in that environment. It would mean the world to me to be around those guys. I think to be able to have a chance to continue the relationship that I already have with most of those guys, talking and just kind of being around each other and understanding that this is it, it’s just us being together, that would be fun.”
“How I feel now is that I feel like I can add value from a leadership perspective and a defensive perspective,” Bryant added. “I can still move extremely well defensively.”
The notion of Bryant being on the Olympic team started being bandied about in earnest in August, when USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo revealed that he had spoken with the five-time NBA champion – who previously said he wouldn’t play in Rio – about the potential of being on the team. The 12 players on the list for Rio is expected to be revealed in June.