Kobe Bryant says he's a 'big fan' of Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer

The Dom Dwyer fan base has undoubtedly grown since his call up to the United States men's national team.

That base includes the Black Mamba.

Former NBA star Kobe Bryant continues to vocalize his support of Dwyer, a Sporting Kansas City forward who joined the U.S. national team for the first time last month.

In a video message shared on U.S. Soccer's Twitter account Thursday, Bryant said of Dwyer, "He's on fire, man. That's my guy."

He added: "I'm excited for his call to U.S.A. And I'm looking forward to him doing big things. I'm a big Dom fan."

In his U.S. national team debut Saturday, Dwyer scored in a 2-1 win against Ghana in an international friendly.

That, too, received some love from Bryant. After the match, Bryant tweeted a highlight of the goal, with the message, "Well done my brother."

Dwyer responded, "My man."

Dwyer received his U.S. citizenship earlier this year after a naturalization ceremony at a courthouse in Kansas City. He and the Americans will open their Gold Cup schedule Saturday, when they face Panama at 3:30 p.m. in Nashville.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Kobe Bryant says he's a 'big fan' of Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer."