As Kobe’s NBA career begins to wind down, the Lakers guard says he is considering playing in Europe once his NBA days are done. Bryant, who grew up in Italy as his father played there, still has ties back to the country and admitted a move to Europe would be “natural” for him.
“It would be natural for me to go do it. It wouldn’t be a stretch at all. I grew up here. You’d have to look at the market and what’s going on in terms of the level of basketball being played,” Bryant said. “I understand there’s a high level of competitive basketball in Turkey now. They might have the best league in Europe. Spain has obviously been one of the top leagues for a long time.
“And Italy is a place that’s dear in my heart, I grew up there, but the level is not where it used to be. When I was growing up over there, that was the best league in Europe.”
