‘Kobe was my life': Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on legendary Kobe Bryant

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the forward for the Milwaukee Bucks and the NBA MVP, may be playing basketball today because he witnessed Kobe Bryant, another MVP, use his craft with the same ferocity and expertise as Antetokounmpo does.

 For the first time since Bryant and his daughter, along with seven other people, perished in a helicopter crash in a Los Angeles suburb, California, Antetokounmpo made his way back to the basketball court on Monday. The loss of the first basketball star who caught his eye left him grieving deeply.

Kobe and I grew up together.  My existence revolved around Kobe.  One of the reasons I started playing basketball and the reason I'm here today is because I look up to him," Antetokounmpo said on Monday in a voice full of sorrow.  According to him, Antetokounmpo's first basketball game was one in which Bryant participated.

 "Dude, he was huge.  He was large.  You sensed it.  You can sense how large he was by the events of yesterday, the global outcry, and the sheer number of people who reached out to his family.