Italy, where Kobe Bryant grew up, will mourn the basketball player’s death for a full week.
Every professional team in all levels of basketball will pay homage to Kobe with a moment of silence in every game for seven days, the Italian basketball federation said.
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Bryant spoke Italian fluently, and played most days of the week on the city’s youth team Cantine Riunite, named for a local winemaker of the region’s sparkling red lambrusco, an experience he famously credited as formative for his skills on the court.
Bryant credited the country for the skills he developed on the court in a 2016 interview with il Resto del Carlino.
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