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Jonathan White

“I love China” was among the few Mandarin phrases Kobe Bryant uttered at a Nike basketball camp in Shanghai in the summer of 2009.
A decade later, after his untimely death at 41, we’re beginning to see how much China loved him back.
Bryant was the inspiration of a global generation of basketball fans, the man who, more than any other, would be the face of the NBA, nowhere more so than China.
This was not all down to good fortune. Yes, Bryant was the star of the show when Yao Ming headed to the NBA, and yes, he was the Michael Jordan of the digital era.


There were also the commercial opportunities as Nike’s most recognisable face at a time they were pushing into China, the incongruous Smart car advert and peddling Sprite with Jay Chou.
But there was more to it than the money for a man who would go on to outsell Yao when it came to jerseys. Bryant first visited China years before the country’s most famous export went to the NBA and he continued to visit thereafter.


These visits endeared him to China’s fans, as did his early adoption of Chinese social media. His Sina blog and Chinese website started in 2009. He showed he was game for a laugh and interacted directly with his fans, often attempting Mandarin. Bryant was among the first sports stars to embrace Weibo, launching his account in 2013.
After a long gap, he returned to Weibo in 2015 to ask “What does ‘datie’ mean?”, the term meaning “hitting iron” used for missing shots in basketball. Tens of thousands responded, many to poke fun at Bryant who was known for missing shots as much as hitting them.
Most importantly, he was a winner. He had a whole handful of NBA championship rings a over a 20-year career. His crowning achievement arguably came in China when he guided Team USA to gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.


China loves a winner but beyond that, his attitude to training was another thing the Chinese could get behind. Here was the best player in the league, an athlete of undoubted talents, but he was the one getting up for his famous 4am workouts.
In 2009 he was given a cultural ambassador award by the Asia Society. China’s Minister of Sport, Liu Peng, watched on.
His philanthropic contributions included setting up a charity in China and making sure his own US-based charity did its bit by teaching Mandarin and Chinese culture to middle schoolers. He also played charity games in China.
Former Lakers lead the way as China mourns Kobe Bryant
Oddly for an athlete, Bryant’s popularity only grew after retiring. He remains the most followed Sina Weibo account of any sports star and more than any NBA team.
His following is more than any single NBA player and dwarfs football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Last year he again topped the 2019 NBA Red Card Report, sports agency Mailman’s annual look into the success of teams and athletes across Chinese social media platforms.


He visited China again last year to make it 16 years in a row he toured the country and regularly engaged with fans through videos where he answered their questions. He was there again to launch the Fiba World Cup alongside the Chinese version of his first novel, The Wizenard Series: Training Camp and autobiography Mamba Mentality: Kobe Bryant. He also launched his China online store.
Kobe led the way for such tours, which have become a staple for stars across all sports. Dwyane Wade, the third most popular former NBA player after Bryant and Tracy McGrady, is a regular visitor to China and signed up to replace Jeremy Lin as a judge on Chinese television show Dunk of China.
Bryant was doing Chinese TV back in 2008, with reality show Kobe Mentu (“Kobe’s Disciples”). Proof that is not only in popularity where they follow in Bryant’s footsteps.


The numbers don’t lie. For much of the last decade Bryant ranked top of NBA jersey sales in China, a fact you can see from any visit to a Chinese city. Millions tuned into his final game, where he dropped 60 points to bow out in trademark style.
His post-retirement Weibo hashtag in 2016 reached more than one billion views on Weibo, while the pre-retirement “Thank You Kobe” hashtag reached hundreds of millions in hours. Even the announcement of his Oscar win for animated short film “Dear Basketball”, based on a poem that he wrote, broke records.
But it’s what’s behind the numbers that matters most.


Bryant came across as genuine. You can see that in the tributes paid by his Chinese former teammates on Weibo. Sun Yue, who Bryant carried to an NBA championship in 2009, was effusive in his praise, as was Yi Jianlian.
That genuineness came across as much to ordinary Chinese as it did their superstar sportsmen. Bryant’s death will leave a massive gap and any sports star who hopes to fill it needs to take his path to engaging with China to heart.


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NBA (National Basketball Association)

China’s love for Kobe Bryant shows other sports how to follow in his footsteps

Students at Shenyang Sport University pose for a group picture with a portrait of Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of his final NBA game in 2016. Photo: Xinhua

Kobe Bryant: China’s tributes led by ex-Lakers teammates as China mourns NBA star

Los Angeles Lakers fans in LeBron James and Kobe Bryant jerseys watch the NBA China Games 2019 in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters

Yi Jianlian, from China, newly acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers, poses in his new jersey during his introduction at the NBA basketball team's headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Sun Yue (9), of China, celebrates after scoring his first NBA points on a jumper against Milwaukee Bucks center Francisco Elson (9) during the fourth quarter of the basketball game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

epa03100379 New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (L) drives to the basket as Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant defends during the 2nd half of the game at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, USA, 10 February 2012. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT CORBIS OUT

Kobe Bryant’s death is China’s loss as kindred spirit is mourned in ‘second home’

Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming and NBA commissioner David Stern pose with children during the NBA Cares Special Olympics Basketball Clinic in Shanghai in 2013. Photo: AP

Basketball - NBA China Games - Los Angeles Lakers v Brooklyn Nets - Mercedes-Benz Arena, Shanghai, China - October 10, 2019. Fans in Lebron James jersey and the former team player Kobe Bryant jersy watch the game. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang

Kobe Bryant death: ‘We miss you already’ – Tom Brady, Reese Witherspoon, Justin Bieber, Megan Rapinoe: athletes, entertainers, politicians pay tribute on social media

Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant was a hero beyond the basketball court, with many athletes from other sports and entertainment stars mourning his death. Photo: Reuters

Kobe Bryant, 41, dies in helicopter crash; daughter of ex-Los Angeles Lakers star and seven others dead

Los Lakers guard Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. His 13-year-old daughter and three others are also dead. Photo: Reuters

A fan watches warmups while wearing a Kobe Bryant jersey after news reports of his death in a helicopter crash prior to an NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)

FILE PHOTO: Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal (R) kisses the Most Valuable Player trophy as teammate Kobe Bryant kisses the NBA championship trophy as they celebrate in the locker room after winning the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, June 19, 2000. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

Houston Rockets center Tyson Chandler cries during a tribute to Kobe Bryant before an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Denver. Bryant died in a California helicopter crash Sunday. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Jan 26, 2020; Calabasas, California, USA; Life long Kobe Bryant fans Amanda and Philip Gordon of the San Fernando Valley, embrace at the at the scene near the hillside where the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant crashed in Calabasas, CA. this morning. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Sport

China

Basketball


Star only grew in popularity after retirement and despite commercial success showed genuine interest in the country
Tributes paid by Chinese fans and former Los Angeles Lakers teammates on social media show how beloved NBA champion was



Kobe Bryant only grew in popularity after retirement and despite commercial success showed genuine interest in the country, as tributes from fans and former Los Angeles Lakers teammates show.


CBA (Chinese Basketball Association)

Jeremy Lin

China society

Fame and celebrity

Social media

Chinese culture

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Opinion