Reporting from Milwaukee: Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Eurohoops was present in Milwaukee during the last game of Kobe Bryant against the Bucks. Sitting just behind the Lakers bench during that night was a privilege and, as if this wasn’t enough, we had also the chance to speak with the NBA living legend after the game.
Here you can see our view of the court, during the last seconds of the match, when Kobe hugged Giannis Antetokounmpo and said his farewell to the Wisconsin crowd for the last time.
What followed was a press conference by Kobe, that lasted about ten minutes. Among other things we watched, and heard the “Black Mamba” speaking also about Giannis and the advices he gave him. In the near future you will have the chance to learn which were those advices in the official blog of Giannis in Eurohoops.
After the end of the press conference, Kobe was happy to speak directly with a European media website such as Eurohoops. What about? The European appreciation of his farewell tour which is making headlines also in the old continent. As he said: “It makes me feel great. I appreciate every moment of my communication with the fans. It’s important to be recognized, it’s great to get all this love. I had fun, I enjoy travelling to all the cities and being present in all the gyms. Basketball has given me many things and I am satisfied when I feel that I have also given something to the sport. I am glad that the same thing applies to European fans and that they appreciate my basketball career”.
However, with his career ending, would Kobe prefer to turn back time and be 18 years old again, despite his achievements, in order to have 20 more years of the game he loves? He smiled: “No, no, I wouldn’t do it. I would leave things the way they are. I have a sense of fulfillment with everything that I have achieved in my career. I worked very hard in order to win the titles I have won and become the player I am. You can’t turn back time. You can only live every moment once, you can have only have one career and that’s why there’s a great value to what you achieve. For sure, I love basketball and I will miss it, but this is the natural evolution of things. I am very happy with everything I did and I wouldn’t change not even one moment, nothing from all those years”.