Kobe Bryant's 60-point win in his farewell National Basketball Association (NBA) game on Thursday has not only made him a headline in Chinese media, but also unleashed a flood of sentimental posts from his Chinese fans.

Students at Shenyang Sports University in Northeast China's Liaoning Province draw a giant picture of Kobe Bryant on the ground on Thursday to commemorate the superstar player's farewell to the NBA. Photo: CFP

"Man, I can't believe how fast 20 years went by, this is crazy," Bryant said to the crowd following the victory by the Los Angeles Lakers, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Posts with the hashtag "Kobe's last game" had garnered more than 21 million total page views on Sina Weibo as of press time, with many posts expressing reluctance to see the legendary Lakers player leave the basketball court.

"Kobe is my basketball hero," one netizen wrote in a comment. "As a 30-year-old man, I cried the whole night for Kobe's departure, as he also took away my childhood memories and my youth. Thank you for giving me power when I was down."

Fans have also flooded Kobe's official Sina Weibo page to show their affection, and more than 120,000 fans liked a farewell video Kobe posted on his Weibo page on Thursday.

Responding to their employees' strong affection for Kobe, some companies made arrangements for staff to watch Kobe's farewell match.

 "I like Kobe very much, and so do my employees, so I've decided to give them a holiday to stay home and watch his farewell game," Wang Renfeng, manager of an Internet company based in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times.

A manager surnamed Wang from an Internet company based in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, told the Global Times that his company arranged for staff to watch Kobe's last match together.

 "We hope our staff can learn professionalism from him by watching the game," Wang said.

Bryant was first drafted by the Charlotte Hornets (now the New Orleans Pelicans) in 1996 before being traded to the Lakers.