LONDON – The idea intrigues Kobe Bryant: A farewell season beyond the completion of his Los Angeles Lakers career, a victory lap in a European destination that bookends a blessed basketball life. NBA stars rise and fall in performance and popularity, but the loudest cheers, the biggest crowds, the most reverential treatment never changes for Bryant.

Kobe Bryant is a huge star in Europe (EFE) More

He's a transcendent icon overseas, borne of an unparalleled blend of life as a Laker and winner of five championships, two scoring titles, and an MVP award. What's more, Bryant is one of them. In his formative years, Europe was home. He speaks Italian and Spanish. He hangs around soccer stadiums. Bryant travels to Europe and it all comes so easily to him. As he chases his second gold medal with Team USA in these Olympic Games, his basketball future in Europe remains ripe with possibilities.

Asked about the possibility of playing a season in Europe, Bryant told Yahoo! Sports: "It would be natural for me to go do it. It wouldn't be a stretch at all. I grew up here."

Bryant plans to play out the final two years of his Lakers contract and reassess everything. He's still performing on an All-Star level, and his knees are holding up with his 34th birthday approaching this month. As the son of Italian League star Joe Bryant, he lived in Italy for several years as a child. His memories of Italy's pro league plush, Bryant still gushes over witnessing the scoring genius of Brazilian star Oscar Schmidt in Italy.

There's so much sentimentality about Italy and so much more of a business acumen about his ability to push product in Europe. He'll be selling Nikes forever here.

If Bryant ever wanted to make this leap at the end of his career, his decision on where to play would be an intriguing one.

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"You'd have to look at the market and what's going on in terms of the level of basketball being played," Bryant said. "I understand there's a high level of competitive basketball in Turkey now. They might have the best league in Europe. Spain has obviously been one of the top leagues for a long time.

"And Italy is a place that's dear in my heart, I grew up there, but the level is not where it used to be. When I was growing up over there, that was the best league in Europe."

Bryant considered several offers in the lockout and had been destined to sign with a team in China for $2 million per month until the China Basketball Association passed a rule forbidding its teams to sign NBA players with existing contracts. Once talks with the CBA were squashed, Bryant had detailed discussions with Virtus Bologna of the Italian League. His agent, Rob Pelinka, went deep into discussions about a deal where the entire Italian League could've benefited financially and shared proceeds and the costs of his salary.

Bryant and the Italian League never did agree on terms, and eventually the end of the lockout stopped the discussions. Nevertheless, Bryant goes to Rome and speaks Italian, goes to Barcelona and speaks Spanish, and that goes a long, long way in Europe. On Team USA's stop in Barcelona, Bryant and Pau Gasol shared the stage at a promotional event at a downtown Nike store. Once they were gone, it was the bigger-than-life Bryant posters that stayed in the store windows and on the walls. Gasol is a son of Spain, and he still remained Bryant's sidekick before a pre-Olympic exhibition game in the nation.

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