In a recent NBA commercial featuring current and former players, Devin Booker paid his respect to his late idol, Kobe Bryant. The commercial is filled with legends and Kobe couldn’t miss it.
He was one of the most influential players of all time, and when he became a mentor, several players learned from him. Booker, for instance, modeled his game after the Los Angeles Lakers icon, and the player gave him a challenge that Book will never forget: be legendary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1vaembXXRE
During this commercial, there are 10 seconds of silence as a tribute to Bryant. Booker saluting a mural of the Black Mamba is one of the touching moments of the clip. Recently, he had the chance to talk about that, explaining how meaningful it was for him to remember his idol.
“I had a few people telling me that that was their favorite spot. I’m glad the way it turned out, obviously. No lines, which is how I wanted it to be and I got to pay my respects at the same time. So it’s a no-brainer for me. I talked to Vanessa about it, she 100% cleared it, which made me feel even more comfortable doing it. And that was that.”
The Phoenix Suns star explained how cool the final result was, explaining that he had the same feeling while visiting murals dedicated to Kobe.
“I know how Photoshop works. But there’s a lot of murals of Kobe down there that I’ve drove past and had that same feeling. You know so it was pretty accurate and easy to get into character knowing what it was for, for me”.
Kobe left a huge mark on the game. Not only Booker was inspired by him; No. 24 trained with several players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi Leonard and more.
Those stars will carry his legacy. Booker received the task to be legendary and he’s working hard to achieve that. The 75th anniversary of the league will be very emotional, especially knowing that Kobe won’t be here to enjoy it.
