words_Brandon Richard
On July 11th of 1996, Kobe Bryant was part of a trade that sent him to Los Angeles in exchange for Vlade Divac. Nearly 15 years since that trade, Kobe has become the first athlete to have his hands and feet imprinted at the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. In a ceremony held this past Saturday, Kobe was joined by wife Vanessa, daughters Natalia and Gianna, Coach Phil Jackson and Lakers Executive Vice President Jeanie Buss for the honor.
Master of Ceremonies Jimmy Kimmel introduced Kobe and supplied a bit of humor as well. The late night talk show host quipped that Kobe was deterred from acting after seeing Shaquille O’Neal’s Kazaam. He also noted that it was remarkable that Kobe’s name was bestowed alongside so many actors, considering his biggest on-screen achievement to date had been guest starring on Moesha. Of course, Kobe’s “Black Mamba” short film may have trumped that cameo.
Walking up to chants of “MVP,” Kobe took the mic to speak. Kobe reminisced about first coming to Los Angeles as a 17-year-old kid, telling those in attendance that he felt like had grown up with the city. He also said that he had seen the Grauman’s ceremonies growing up, but never thought in his wildest dreams that he’d ever be honored.
Kobe closed with “Thank you very much. It’s an honor. I love being in L.A. I love the Lakers. More championships to come.”
Here’s a look at Kobe putting his “3D” Zoom Kobe VI in cement for his Grauman’s induction.
images via Yahoo
