Oscar Schmidt says Kobe Bryant was an ‘annoying kid’ on the basketball courts of Italy as a child, but they went on to form an amazing bond years later.
Bryant, who tragically died at 41-years-old in a helicopter crash on Sunday, spent time in Italy in his early years, moving to Rieti at six-years-old.
He grew up watching his father Joe playing in the Italian league, but it was Brazilian star Schmidt who became his hero for his superb performances in Europe.
Schmidt, now 61-years-old, had an incredible career in European and Brazilian leagues, and is the all-time top point-scorer in Olympic basketball, playing in five summer games.
The Brazilian legends recalls Bryant’s admiration for him in the 1980s and how obsessed the youngster was with the game at the time.
‘Once I heard Joe’s teammates saying he would talk about Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to Kobe. And the kid would answer “The good one is Oscar, he beats your team all the time.” And Joe would laugh,’ Schmidt told Associated Press.
‘Kobe said he used to call me “La Bomba” (the bomb in Italian). In Brazil everyone calls me “Holy Hand” because of my throws, but I liked his nickname for me too.
‘He was a bit annoying to be honest. He went to every All Star game in Italy, jumped onto the court before the game, at halftime and in the end just to shoot until someone dragged him out. At 7, 8 years of age he would not leave the court unless somebody picked him up.
‘We could definitely see he was going to be a great shooter and a great dribbler, he had that from the start.’
Schmidt was aware of Bryant as a child, but he didn’t know quite how much he meant to the American until many years later, after he retired in 2003.
‘A few years later I saw a documentary in which he said so many good things about me. I wept,’ said Schmidt. ‘The first time I actually talked to him was at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was emotional, he was emotional, it was great to see him as a grown-up man.’
The two men would meet again over dinner at the 2014 FIFA World Cup when Bryant went to visit Schmidt in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
‘He remembered things about my career that I had forgotten,’ said the Brazilian. ‘He talked about how impressed he was at an All Star game after I got 19 baskets in a row. I had to look it up to know it was in 1988.’
Schmidt says the child he saw in Italy had the same qualities that the man displayed as an NBA legend many years later.
‘He was a kind of player that other players often resent, because he proved he could decide a match on his own,’ Oscar said.
‘He loved to have the ball as a kid, and he loved to have the ball as a star.’
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