Kobe Bryant:"I've always been a huge Milan fan, I was crazy about Van Basten"

While Kobe Bryant made a name for himself in the United States playing for the Lakers, he grew up in Italy where his father played basketball. While Kobe was in Italy, Milan had a historically great team that featured the likes of Baresi, Maldini, Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten, the former Lakers star talked about his affection for that team in an interview to NBA.com:"I've always been a huge Milan fan. As a kid I was crazy about Marco Van Basten, my favorite player. Messi and Ronaldo? We're talking about two world class players and it's hard for anyone to say who is better. It also depends on your taste: for the lovers of tiki-taka style better Barcelona and Messi. For those who like a more pragmatic and athletic style your choice must be Cristiano Ronaldo. I like Barcelona, I really appreciate their style"