Kobe Bryant: Why the L.A. Lakers Star Is So Big in China

When you're China's biggest basketball star, who needs the U.S.?  Ask Kobe Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, and he'll tell you that Kobe would be perfectly content playing in China during an extended NBA lockout.

Kobe's agent recently proposed a barnstorming tour in China in which Bryant and other potential Pelinka clients, such as Derrick Williams, O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon and Carlos Boozer, would play exhibition games in Shanghai should the start of the upcoming NBA season, if there is one, be delayed.

China is a natural fit for Kobe as he's larger than life in the Middle Kingdom.  Kobe has the highest selling jersey in China, even eclipsing China's own Yao Ming.  But why is Kobe so big in China?  It's certainly no accident.

Let's take a look at how Kobe came to captivate a nation of 1.3 billion people on the opposite side of the globe.

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