Black Mamba Makes History! (Blog, Pics)

He is one of the most popular basketball players in Los Angeles Lakers history. And yesterday, Kobe Bryant also became the first athlete to ...

He is one of the most popular basketball players in Los Angeles Lakers history. And yesterday, Kobe Bryant also became the first athlete to be immortalized in concrete at Grauman's Chinese TheatrE in Hollywood, CA.

The 32-year-old star couldn't stop smiling as he played his hands and feet in the cement outside the theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

'I feel extremely honored to be able to do this. It's never something I actually thought about when I was watching movies.
'I never thought my hand and foot prints would be sitting right here at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.'

The star and his wife shared a kiss following the ceremony in which Kobe recalled first coming to Hollywood 15 years ago.
'I can remember like it was yesterday being 17 years old and coming to L.A. and not knowing the freeways; the 405, the 101. I had no idea what was going on,' he said.
'I feel like I've grown up in this city. We've had a lot of ups and downs but here we are with five championships and plenty more to go,' he added.

But Kobe, who has acted briefly in short film The Black Mamba, said he wouldn't be tempted to join his Grauman contemporaries and become an actor after retiring from the game.

'No,' he said. "But I could see my vision behind the camera as a director.'


Congrats to Kobe!