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Kobe Bryant stars in soccer commercial for Panini collectibles

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Kobe Bryant is featured in a commercial for Panini, a sports and entertainment collectibles company.

Emphasizing his love of soccer growing up in Italy before he played basketball, Bryant says in the commercial, “Before I was a baller, I was a baller.”

The Lakers All-Star guard also made a cameo in a recent Nike soccer commercial

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Bryant told GQ magazine his favorite soccer team is A.C. Milan.

“Milan has always been my favorite team, and it’s always in my heart,” Bryant said. “I keep a Milan shirt and scarf in my locker room so I can look at them every day,” he said in the magazine’s May issue.

Bryant isn’t the only Laker fond of soccer. Veteran point guard Steve Nash is a part owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.

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As quoted in GQ, Nash is particularly fond of Tottenham Hotspur.

“My whole family is Tottenham fans,” he said. “I still remember in ’81 waking up at 5 a.m. to put on my two-tone striped blue kit with my dad to watch the FA Cup.”

Both Bryant and Nash had early starts to their off-seasons, with the Lakers winning only 27 games in 2013-14.

Bryant was recently cleared to begin workouts after missing most of the season with a knee issue. Nash is hoping to resolve the nerve irritation in his back that limited him to just 15 games.

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Twitter: @EricPincus

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