'KOBE' trended on the global Twitter trending charts at the close of Game 3, which Boston seized convincingly, 116-100, over the Golden State Warriors.
As of posting, the late Lakers great has more than 30,000 tweets to his name.
While Bryant is always a fond topic of conversation among basketball fans, his sudden popularity in the Twitter charts is likely due to one of the people he inspired, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
Tatum has spoken openly about how Kobe remains his idol and inspiration, and even dedicated the start of the series to the superstar. And as the Celtics fought back a signature Warriors third quarter, many netizens pointed out that his adulation of Kobe even stretched to the way he shoots… with some mixed results.
Despite the armchair criticism, Tatum contributed a solid 26 points to the home team’s scoreboard. And some used the Kobe comparison favorably.
A few also posted Kobe throwback clips:
Here are some other tweets and reactions to Game 3 between the Warriors and the Celtic.
Prayers up for this fan!
Boston strong!
Golden State strutting its third quarter stuff
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