The country where Bryant was raised makes great gesture for him

Italy was the country where Bryan grew up, which will be remembered for a whole week. The Italian basketball federation has ordered a minute of silence held Monday for all matches, “in each category for the entire week”, Periscope follows.

Bryant lived in Italy between the ages of 6 and 13 while his father, Joe Bryant, played for several teams in the country, he spoke fluent Italian and often said it would be a “dream” to play in the country.

This dream was almost realized when Bryant was about to join Virtus Bilogna in 2011 during an NBA closure, only for the deal to be broken.

Bryant, 18 times NBA All-Star, who won five championships and became one of his generation's biggest basketball players during a 20-year career with Los Angeles Lakers, died Sunday with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash near Calabas, California. /Periscopi/