Growing up Quote by Aaron Gordon

I mean, Kobe was my favorite player growing up.

— Jordan Poole

Kobe made an impact on basketball in a big way. He came in the League when he was 17 years old, but he was…

— Vlade Divac

Kobe meant a lot to me growing up.

— Zion Williamson

Kobe was, other than my parents, he was the reason why I played sports. Just his mindset, the Mamba mentality.

— George Kittle

I knew Kobe pretty well and he was a guy that was always moving forward.

— Diana Taurasi

I grew up a huge fan of Kobe.

— Julius Randle

Kobe is probably an idol for so many players. He was such a great player so you wanted to be like Kobe. He's a…

— Nikola Jokic

Kobe's an incredibly talented athlete, and there are many more like him among today's players.

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kobe was obsessed with the game of basketball.

— Jalen Rose

I grew up - obviously I'm from Philly, where Kobe is from, so we grew up idolizing Kobe. He meant everything to us.

— Markieff Morris

When you played Kobe, it was something different. When you went to L.A., you made sure your shoes were tied extra tight. You made…

— Channing Frye

Growing up in L.A., Kobe was my idol, really.

— Nick Young