A fan selfie with Kobe Bryant, who tragically died on Sunday, might be the final photo the world receives of the Los Angeles Lakers legend.
What happened: Brady Smigiel snapped a blurry selfie of Kobe Bryant on Saturday outside the Mamba Sports Academy, according to CNN.
- Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash the next day with seven other people.
- Brady and his brother, Beau, went to the academy and wanted to see Kobe before his games.
- The boys’ mother, Dionne Reich Smigiel, told CNN: “They are both obsessed with basketball and big fans of Kobe. Brady was writing to our ‘family text’ group all day.”
- Smigiel: “When we are in Newport Beach, Brady makes me drive by Kobe’s gate just in hopes he might be driving out at the same time.”
- Brady approached Kobe after his daughter’s team — the Lady Mambas — lost in the ongoing Mamba Cup. Kobe didn’t want to take a photo, giving him knuckles instead, according to CNN.
- Brady approached Kobe later for a selfie. They took it. But it was blurry.
- Smigiel: “Kobe said, ‘We’ll get a better pic tomorrow.’”
Another fan interaction: Blake Rosenthal, 15, posted a video on TikTok from the Mamba Academy, which was filmed on Saturday, according to The New York Times. The video shows Bryant on the sidelines joking and in a jovial mood.
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Another photo: Vanessa Bryant, the wife of Kobe Bryant, changed her Instagram profile photo Wednesday to a picture of Kobe Bryant and their daughter, Gianna, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.