NBA player was cultural icon in China, too

Kobe Bryant's death has reverberated across the Pacific Ocean to China, prompting an outpouring of grief in a country that Bryant once called his "second home".

On China's Weibo, where the basketball legend had posted a video wishing his fans "a Happy Chinese New Year" just a couple of days before his death on Jan 26, the hashtag devoted to Bryant's death had attracted 2.4 billion views and tens of millions of engagements by mid-afternoon local time Jan 27. It was the most widely read and discussed topic of the day.

"You are never gone. Your Mamba Mentality has influenced a whole generation. We will carry on with your spirit. You will always live in my heart. R.I.P," wrote Sun Yue, a Chinese basketball player who was once a teammate of Bryant's on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant rose in popularity in China in the early 2000s, when Yao Ming of Shanghai was playing for the Houston Rockets, and NBA viewership exploded in China.

Bryant's first visit to China took place in 1998, when he hosted a basketball clinic there, and since then, he had been a frequent visitor to China.

His fame in China was evident in the heart-warming welcome he received during the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China, and his purple-and-gold Lakers jersey was a top seller in the country.

Bryant was a cultural ambassador between China and the US. He set up the Kobe Bryant China Foundation following his participation in the 2008 Olympics to "raise money for education, sports, and cultural programs for children from China and the US".

After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, Bryant's foundation donated approximately $732,000 (5 million yuan) for the relief effort. His Kobe Bryant Family Foundation, set up in 2006, worked to strengthen ties between the two countries by teaching US students about Chinese culture and language.

Xu Liping, who started the nonprofit "love because of you" and who is a vice-president of the Gansu Aesthetic Education Promotion Association, told China Daily that she learned about Bryant and his daughter's passing during a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles.

"I couldn't believe that that was the truth, because I originally planned to make a special visit to Mamba Sports Academy to discuss with him cooperation in Chinese basketball youth training programs," she said.

"Kobe has long engaged in youth basketball education, and organized many international exchange games. He came to China last year and he has had a positive impact among the countless young basketball enthusiasts in China," she added.

The Mamba spirit has influenced and inspired many Chinese teenagers. Bryant also has had a positive impact in promoting the development of basketball in China.

It was Bryant's persistence, on-court competitiveness, kindness and dedication to his career that made him a cultural icon to Chinese youth.

Shao Er Chen is a Chinese fan who was visiting Texas for the Lunar New Year break, but when he learned about Bryant's death, he felt that he had to stop in Los Angeles to pay his respects to the star shooting guard.

As a 10-year old, Shao started watching Bryant play in 2000, and it was a favorite pastime for him and his grandfather. When his grandfather passed away, Shao continued to watch Laker games by himself. Watching the Laker games reminded him of his grandfather and the time they spent together, he said.

"Whenever I run into obstacles, I would think of Kobe, and I would strive harder," he said. When asked to define the Mamba spirit, he said it means "doing your best in the area that you could control, and turning the impossible into the possible".

A young woman from Guangzhou, China, who stopped by Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday to pay tribute to Bryant, started to tell China Daily: "Kobe was a role model to the generation of people born in the '80s, '90s," but she then broke into tears and had to excuse herself from the interview.