Kobe Bryant Paused Usain Bolt From Expressing His Fan Moment on Their First Ever Meeting in 2013

It’s almost two and half years since the Basketball legend Kobe Bryant left this world. Even now, people cannot come to terms that he is no more. The renowned Lakers shooting guard came across as one of the best players in the league. Apart from his remarkable basketball skill set, his elite mentality separated him from the rest of the pack. People call it the Mamba mentality. Like many others, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been an ardent follower of Bryant. The two icons met during an All-Star game, which became a humbling experience for the duo.

The meetup between these athletes provided the way for a heartwarming conversation. In that exchange, Bolt admired Kobe’s personality and humble nature when the basketball player showed him the respect he deserved. He also recalled when Kobe asked him to wait so his daughters could meet the Olympic gold medalist. It became a moving experience for both. 

A memorable day for two legends

The two global icons attracted attention, and fans at the 2013 All-Star game loved their meetup. As they met, Bryant paused for a bit for his daughters to come and meet him. Bolt mentioned, “The first time I met Kobe was the All-Star game couple of years before. And that moment I was like ‘Kobe I’m such a fan’. Middle of the conversation he’s like, ‘Stop. I need to go get my daughter’s, they are huge fans of yours.”

One personality trait everyone loved about Kobe was his humility. Some athletes prefer not to talk with people, but Bryant had a unique DNA. He loved interacting with anybody he came across and oozed confidence in whatever he did. Even Bolt loved it and adopted the Mamba mentality approach in life. 

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“For me to know his family and him, who was a fan of me. I watched Kobe through the years and just, the level of work. His mentality, as they called it Mamba Mentality. For me, it was a big thing,” mentioned Bolt, who, like Kobe, attracted millions of viewers. 

Usain Bolt elevated track and field

Both Kobe and Bolt brought casual fans to their respective sport for years to come. However, the influence Bolt has on track and field is astonishing. In basketball, many other superstars contribute to the viewership of the sport. When that statistic comes to track and field, Bolt was the primary reason for its boom.

In 2016, NBC received 35 million viewers to see Bolt run those ten seconds in the 100-meter at Rio Olympics. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the whole telecast averaged 15.5 total viewers, as the 2016 Rio Olympics averaged 27.5 million viewers. The significant learning curve from this statistic is noticeable.

There is no doubt that Bolt was a magnet for attracting people like Kobe. The duo had similar personality traits and were icons of their sport. They both attracted people to come to watch them play. To sum up, various athletes are irreplaceable in their respective sports; Usain Bolt and Kobe Bryant fall into that bracket.

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