By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo – who initially deleted all of his social media following the news of Kobe Bryant’s death – talked to the media after practice.
The Milwaukee Bucks superstar kept his feelings private, as did back when his father passed away, but sent his sincere condolences to the Bryant family:
“Actually, I’m just trying to keep private how I feel. How I feel is up to me and everybody deals with tragedy in their own way. I dealt with tragedy a few years ago about my dad, did not come out, speak about it all. All I can say is that I pray for the people affected by it. Yesterday was a horrible day for basketball, for everybody. A lot of people were really affected by it. I send my deepest condolences to their family, Vanessa and the kids that stayed behind. All we can do is pray for them”, he said.
Although he tried his best not to ‘overshare’, he ended up remembering the influence Kobe had on the whole world including him, especially in childhood: “He was big, man. He was big. You could feel it. You can definitely feel it in the air from yesterday, what happened around the world, how many people reached out to him and his family, you realize how big he was. I grew up with Kobe. Kobe influenced my life. Looking up to him, one of the reasons why I started playing basketball, one of the reasons why I’m here today,”
He also noted that Kobe ‘means greatness’ and that he would feel blessed if he managed to influence the world as Kobe did: “It will be hard for another basketball player to view me as they view Kobe. Kobe was one of the best players to ever play the game. He was put on this earth to be one of the best. When I’m gone, if I can impact people’s lives the way Kobe impacted mine, people’s lives around the world, that will be a blessing.”
Take a look at the full media session: