To Kobe Bryant, basketball is basketball. It doesn’t matter who’s playing. As he sees it, the sport is beautiful and powerful.
Bryant recently spoke about the WNBA and its importance for young female athletes in a new video posted by the league. According to Bryant, his 11-year-old daughter is a huge fan of the WNBA and is constantly inspired by its players.
He also vouched for how it touches young lives.
“You have a dream, you have a goal as a kid to play basketball. As a girl, you grow up, you play basketball you’re like my goal, my ambition is to be a WNBA player,” he said. “… I think that really is the most important part is that women growing up and playing basketball are like okay, my career track can go like this and lead to that. I think that’s the most significant part.”
Here’s the clip:
Bryant has long supported the league, whether it’s attending games with his daughters or taking to Twitter to give one of its stars a shoutout.In fact, Bryant was on hand when Diana Taurasi became the WNBA’s leading scorer.
Bryant isn’t alone in his thoughts on the league. Draymond Green even finds it valuable to study their games.
“In the NBA there’s always a guy who is only around because he can jump,” Green told Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins. “He doesn’t have a clue about the fundamentals. I learn more from the WNBA. They know how to dribble, how to pivot, how to use the shot fake.”
And who’s to argue to Bryant and Green. They know good basketball when they see it.