Another NBA season recently began without Kobe Bryant, who is now a full season removed from his final game with the Los Angeles Lakers. But the future Hall of Famer wasn't far from athletic competition this week as he visited a Paris Saint-Germain training session in France.
Nike welcomed Bryant, an avid soccer fan, to the Ooredoo Training Center pitch as part of an ongoing effort to celebrate basketball culture in Europe.
The five-time NBA champion spent time with Neymar and several more PSG players after their Champions League victory over Anderlecht. Next up for PSG is Le Classique match against Olympique de Marseille.
Bryant is one of four current or former NBA players to visit PSG this year. Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves stopped by the Parc des Princes in June, and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors attended a match against Saint-Etienne later in the summer. Hall of Famer Gary Payton also watched PSG take on Olympique Lyonnais.
-- Nick Ostiller