As many of us know, Kobe Bryant was on his way to coach his daughter's basketball game when he and eight others were tragically killed in that shocking helicopter crash back in January. Such was his love for his daughter, as well as his passion for promoting the sport of basketball for women — something that he shared with San Antonio Spurs legend Tony Parker.
Parker, who is currently the majority owner of the men's and women's club of French outfit ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, recently shared how Kobe Bryant and himself actually had grand plans of growing women's basketball.
“The last time I saw Kobe was in China last year when he was an ambassador for the World Cup,” Parker told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “We were sitting together having conversations about women’s basketball and how we can grow it. He knew that I owned a women’s team and was investing a lot in women’s basketball. It’s just sad that I can’t see him anymore. I wish we could have done all that stuff together, because we would have done great stuff together in women’s basketball.”
It is clear that these two shared a passion for women's basketball, and had it not been for Bryant's untimely passing, this pair could have likely done great things for the sport.
Parker then opened up about what Bryant meant to him and why he made it a point to attend the Los Angeles Lakers' memorial service last February.
“It was important to be there because he always had an impact on my career,” Parker shared. “He was always there for me, giving me advice and text messages. He was just an unbelievable player. Maybe the closest to Michael Jordan, who I think is the best ever. I played against Kobe in his prime. I will always have fond memories of Spurs-Lakers, which was a classic with all of us in our primes. We will definitely all miss him.”
Parker is one of the greatest point guards to ever play the sport, and it is indeed endearing to hear how highly he thinks of Bryant.
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