سه شنبه Twenty-four 8 بهمن 1398 24 شماره 6408 روزنامه ورزشی صبح ایران صاحب امتیاز: خبرگزاری جمهوری اسالمی ایران مدیرمسئول: علی عالی تلفن: 14 ــ 88504113 نمابر: 84711173 سازمان آگهیها: 1877ــ 88501300 ــ88746583 انتشارات: 5 و 88548892 امور مشترکین: 88748800 ــ 88521954 نشانی: تهران، خیابان خرمشهر، شماره 208 / صندوق پستی 5388-15875 چاپ: ایرانیان
[email protected] Basketball legend Kobe Bryant inspired a generation of players Guardian - Kobe Bryant, who died on Sunday in a he led the league in jersey sales five times over the helicopter crash in California at the age of 41, was course of his career and is believed to have sold one of the most accomplished players in league more jerseys internationally than every NBA player history, an 18-time All-Star, a two-time NBA Finals except Michael Jordan. The son of Joe “Jelly Bean” MVP and the 2007-2008 league MVP. As a member Bryant, who played in the NBA for eight seasons be- of Team USA he won gold medals at the 2008 and fore becoming a star in Italy, Kobe Bryant was argu- 2012 Summer Olympics. His 81 points against the ably the most worldly of any NBA star in history – he Toronto Raptors in 2006 is the second-highest sin- could confidently conduct interviews in Spanish and gle-game total in NBA history. In his final game in Italian – and was instrumental in raising the sport’s 2016 he scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz, the international profile. most of any player in his last contest. His international popularity may have even dwarfed On Saturday night LeBron James passed Bryant to his national celebrity, as he was routinely met by become the third all-time leading scorer in league mobs of fans – he once had to escape a reported history, which Bryant celebrated with a tweet con- 15,000 adoring supporters when landing in China gratulating his former opponent and Olympic team- for an appearance in the late 2000s – wherever he mate.