NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is one of the league's most influential figures, as people from all over the world can recognize the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star.
Bryant has developed a very strong fan base in East Asia, as China has always supported Bryant and the fans there are constantly buying t-shirts and sneakers that represent Kobe and his brand.
Sneaker manufacturer Nike is taking advantage of Bryant's popularity and they will debut a "Give Me the Ball" campaign in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan.
Here's one of the first commercials for Kobe's new Asain ad campaign.
Over the summer Bryant was on tour of China with Nike and he participated in the Sprite China 2nd Annual Charity Basketball game, where he put on a show for the fans, scoring a total 68 points in 15 minutes.
"I didn't want to disappoint them or the fans that had paid their hard earned money for a show so I took the challenge of really using the second half as a training session for my stamina. I ran and ran and ran. I wound up scoring 68 in the 2nd and we won."
Bryant recently made headlines with his comments on the flagrant 2 foul called against Oklahoma City Thunder's Serge Ibaka:
"I probably would have smacked him in the mouth. I would have dealt with the pain afterwards."
This quote becomes more interesting when you consider the fact that these two teams aren't adverse to controversy, especially in regards to one another. If you'll recall, it was Metta World Peace's elbow against the Thunder's James Harden late last season that left him suspended for the first round of the playoffs.
