It all started after a fan of Nick M. started an initiative to pay tribute to him in a special way. Nick M. wrote a post on the Change.org petition: "With the untimely and unexpected passing of the great Kobe Bryant, please sign this petition in an attempt to immortalize him forever as the new NBA Logo."
The initiative started by the fan was so successful that as of Tuesday night, more than 2.5 million people had added their signatures.
Overwhelmed by the support, Nick M. wrote, "When I started this petition I was just some 16 year-old kid who had lost his role model and hero. I was using it as a way to mourn his passing. My initial goal was to get a mere 100 signatures. Never would I have thought for this petition to get so incredibly big".
The support from the NBA and Kobe Bryant fans has been overwhelmingly amazing.
"Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Because of all of you we can make this dream become a reality. So I ask all of you to please continue sharing this as much as possible so as we are on the verge of changing NBA history! For Kobe. Once again, 'Mamba out'", he added.
Twitterati all across the globe hailed the initiative and have flooded the social media with their reactions.
A user wrote, "And why not. Widely regarded as one of the greatest ever and passed away in a massive tragedy... would be fitting. It's been 2 days but it still feels so strange to think Mamba isn't with us anymore."
Another wrote: "Respect to Kobe and all he achieved, but what will happen if the likes of Jordan, LeBron etc pass away? Change the name of the NBA itself to honour them? I believe there are other ways to immortalise Kobe aside from changing the logo."
A post read, "But the NBA doesn't need a new logo, how often will we do this in the future?" A Tweeple remarked, "Great initiative...one question though, what happens when Jordan dies."
( With inputs from IANS )