There’s not a single day around the NBA that someone doesn’t bringup Kobe Bryant’s name or memory. He was gone way too soon and his impact went far beyond the Los Angeles Lakers, as players and fans from every single team rooted for him and idolized him.
Bryant was the closest thing to Michael Jordan. He was competitive, athletic, had a killer mid-range game, and just had a feel to come up huge when it mattered the most and the game was on the line.
That inspired many other players to embrace that mindset as well, and his beautiful footwork was a subject of study for young hoopers. That includes Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, who recently told CBS Sports that Kobe was his inspiration.
Joel Embiid Says Kobe Inspired Him To Be An NBA Player
“I was about 13 or something like that. It was the Finals against Boston and it was my first time watching NBA basketball and it happened to be on the Lakers. All I kept hearing about was Kobe, and they won that year. That was the first time I watched and that was also when I fell in love with basketball, and that’s why he became my favorite player. I will say that I’m probably here because of him,” Embiid started.
Embiid Says He’s Added Kobe’s Moves To His Game
“Kobe, we miss him a lot. I miss him a lot. He was my favorite player and even when you watch the way I play basketball and the moves that I’ve added, especially when it comes to fadeaways over both shoulders, that comes from a lot of tapes on Kobe’s game. I miss him a lot. I wish he was still here with us,” the big man concluded.
The biggest irony is that Kobe wasn’t actually beloved in Philadelphia, his hometown. He was constantly booed there since beatingthe 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals, which was the last time the franchise reached that stage.
Now, they’re actually rooting for a guy who literally took every single move out of Kobe’s book. That’s perhaps the biggest – and final – slap in the face the Black Mamba could give the City of Brotherly Love.
