Chinese fans are swarming social media pouring their unchecked emotions of love, support and admirations for Kobe Bryant, hours before the NBA icon's official retirement plus a career finale during a game between the Lakers and the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on Wednesday.
The seemingly voluntary goodbye initiative, however, is more than a spontaneous feeling as tides of a huge commercial market patiently await the NBA legend.
Waves of thankful posts flooded Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblogging service in China, with a catchy new hashtag #ThankYouKobe# surging to the top five trending topics as of 5:30 pm Wednesday. The subject has attracted more than 300,000 comments, with 140 million readings.
"Bryant is part of my best youth memory which represents passion and hardworking honors," says Weibo user ailanqiu (Chinese for "I love basketball").
"I should have thanked Bryant for helping complete my youth. My high school memories which include happiness when watching his slam dunks still lingers in my mind," added the Weibo netizen.
Chinese celebrities, ranging from entertainment, business, and sports, also joined in to thank Kobe.
"Thanks for everything you've done for basketball! Giving us more inspiration! Salute," posted Chen Chien-chou, a famous TV presenter from Taiwan. Chen was a former professional basketball player in Taiwan and Singapore.
Bryant became popular among Chinese basketball in the early 2000s. Most Chinese high school and college students loved him and made him an icon for his famous lines, "I have decided to skip college and take my talent to the NBA."
Byrant is said to have nearly matched Michael Jordan's six NBA championships, finishing with five. In his early 20s, rookie Bryant was given an affectionate Chinese nickname, "xiaofeixia" (meaning adorable flying swordsman) for his fleeting speed and flexibility on court.
Fans created content for Lakers star career peaks, posting his most memorable images. Bryant is an 18-time NBA All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the NBA All-Defensive team.
At 34 years old, he became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history.
After beginning his 20th season with the Lakers in 2015-16, setting an NBA record for the most seasons with the same team, Bryant announced that it would be his final year.
Among the immense amount of love posts, there came hoaxes that make light jokes about the legend's retirement.
A post with the hash tag #ThankYouKobe writes in the form of a company's official notice saying the employees are allowed to have a day's leave to watch Bryant's retirement game. And that the company will organize its employees to learn from Kobe's professionalism and combatant spirit.
Besides fans' emotional support, business promotions are also revved up.
One of China's most famous actors and pop idols, Li Yifeng, posted photos of him meeting with Bryant. He presented Bryant with a sword that he used in a TV costume drama, which drew comments that he was just promoting his drama.
Kobe Bryant memorabilia are also being promoted on social media.
