Behind the scenes of the first “KOBE TOUR”

NBA – About forty French people traveled to the United States in February to experience the unveiling of the Kobe Bryant statue in Los Angeles.

New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles. It is not about the career path of Frank Selvey in the sixties, or more recently Matt Barnes and Wilson Chandler in the 2010s, but the path taken by these Frenchmen who followed in the footsteps of their “idol” Kobe Bryantin this very symbolic year 2024 and this month of February (24 was one of his two numbers in the NBA, 2 was the number of his daughter Gianna).

New Yorkthe city where kobe bryant experienced some of the best moments of his career, between his time at Rucker Park in 2002 and his 61 points at Madison Square Garden in 2009. Philadelphiathe city where Kobe Bryant grew up with his parents Joe and Pam. Los Angelesthe city where Kobe Bryant forever became a legend under the colors Lakers.

A seven-day trip, organized by our partner ” Association of hard work », and where its privileged participants experienced moments that they will undoubtedly remember for the rest of their lives. ” The journey of a lifetime », « a childhood dream come true “and” memories forever engraved in the head » will also be the terms most used by those interested when looking at their Kobe-style adventure.

Unique

It must be said that, even if everything was not exclusively focused on Kobe Bryant, certain restrictions that require it, few can already boast that: played two hours on the NBA floor (Wells Fargo Center, Cripto .com Arena), talked and posed with Nikolas Batum, visited the premises of the NBPA as well as the University Viljanova, had the right to review the presentation the new Intuit Domeor even stood on the boards of Madison Square Garden to shoot a free throw.

https://tvitter.com/FlorianBenfaid/status/1754747217661837391

So, if we add to that the fact that they were there on the day of the Kobe Bryant statue ceremony, we can say without too much trouble that there are only… 37 to meet all these criteria. And these are exactly the 37 who participated in this ” KOBE TOUR “unique!

The inevitable alignment of the planets

The highlight of this week full of surprises and twists, so: this day of February 8, full of emotions, because it is synonymous with Unveiling of Kobe Bryant statue outside the entrance to Staples Center (or rather, from now on, Cripto.com Arena…).

« The date had been marked on my calendar for two years, I was convinced the Lakers would benefit from it » assures Mathieu Delarche, alias manager of the “Hardwork Association”.

In other words, “use” this calendar alignment to once again celebrate Kobe Bryant – and his daughter Gianna – for one day: February 8, 2024, or 8/2/24 in “calendar parlance.”

« The statue was unexpected, but I knew there would be something organized » Matje always insists.

Among the key dates of this season 2023/24. eight years after retirement etc four years after the disappearance from ” Black mamba “, the Lakers unveiled the long-awaited statue that had been promised to him for a long time. Numerology obliges that in the NBA, which still takes place in numbers, it was obviously impossible to miss this opportunity…

Five star casting for a diverse group

Definitely reserved for a handful of lucky people, the ceremony had the merit to enchant the city of Los Angeles, and even more so our forty French people present on the spot.

French people who did not hesitate to come from all over France (Angers, Brittany, Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, Normandie, Perigueux, South-West, Paris region, etc.), even from Belgium and even from Germany, to live their American a dream.

And so get a close look at certain renowned (super)stars during five games: from LeBron James to Nikola Jokic, including Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Jamal Murray, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jalen Brunson or even Tyrese McKay!

Departure in pairs…

Consequently, offering themselves stories to tell with stars in their eyes to their family and loved ones…

Provided that they were not on the trip themselves, because a married couple, a father and his 13-year-old son, brothers or even best friends decided to fly to the United States together.

« It was important for us to share this together because Kobe has been a part of our story since we met in high school. » says Romen, Fanny’s husband, with whom he has two children who must be happy to follow their adventures from their grandparents’ house.

« Kobe is a dad (who was originally a fan) but basketball is because of dad so we had to go together » specifies young Eden, who will have to give a good presentation when he returns to college.

…or individually

Decisions that contrast with those of these travelers who went alone to the east and then the west coast of America, mostly by choice.

« I wanted to be surrounded by experts, talk about basketball, talk about Kobe and meet people » stands for Gatien, originating from Reunion Island and » amazed » according to everything he could discover during his first crossing of the Atlantic.

« Organized trips are the best compromise for me, because they allow me not to let myself go into nature and the unknown, but to be supervised by a professional who knows exactly where to take us to enjoy. » adds Flo, a thirty-year-old like Gatien who, unlike the latter, could already go to the United States as part of ” JORDAN TOUR »… in the organization of the “Association of Valuable Works”. And who will be back in action in a month!

The “public” demands more

There were a few in this scenario, and that was going with Mathieu and his basketball travel company (NBA, but also European). Like Florian, who came to see the ceremony Dviane Vade taking off his jersey in Miami in 2019 or Fabrice, who came to Los Angeles two years ago.

Proof that, despite the price of this pleasure (between 1,000 and 2,000 euros, if not more for the special JORDAN TOUR and KOBE TOUR), the emotions created and the experiences lived are worth it. Regardless of the difficulties we sometimes have to go through, when we know that this same Fabrice… partially tore his Achilles tendon on the floor of the Sixers (nod to Kobe Bryant all the way…) !

Like Ludo, another injured man on crutches who announces ” that there will be a next stay “, that didn’t take away his desire to go again, he hopes, ” for the third dance »! Because in the end, this is the general impression that comes from the different evaluations of this “KOBE TOUR”: the pleasure and the desire to relive such moments together, even if nothing will be comparable to this unique epic for all these Kobe Bryant lovers.

➤ To learn more about the Hardworking Association and future trips: hardwaretrip.com