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Unbothered by 300 Lbs Bodyguards, 17 YO Kobe Bryant’s “Crazy” Decision Made Him the Star of High School Prom: “I’m Very Courageous”

Published 09/28/2023, 12:50 PM EDT

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Kobe Bryant was a celebrity even before he made it to the league. People knew he was going to be big and make it in the NBA. The way he carried himself and how he reacted to people gave him a lot of fans. But there were also some people who did not like the fame he was receiving. But because of his fame, he was able to meet a future Grammy winner when he was 17 at an award show.

Bryant liked the person and told his mom that he was going to ask her out for his high school prom. Months after getting drafted by the Lakers, Bryant was asked about how the events transpired on TV.

Kobe Bryant reveals his high school prom experience.

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Kobe Bryant was 17 years old when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Everyone knew that Bryant was going to be good and was going to make it to the NBA. This gave him the opportunity to have someone big be his date for his senior prom.

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Bryant asked the R&B singer Brandy Norwood to be his high school prom, and she agreed. During the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1996, Bryant was asked about it. Jay Leno showed an image of Bryant and Brandy in a magazine and asked if it was her first date. To that, Bryant replied yes.

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Brandy was also seventeen at the time and already had Grammy nominations. Jay Leno asked Kobe Bryant about the experience. Bryant said, “People were coming up to me and said Kobe you are crazy and I was like why is that? Because you getting so close to Brandy and her bodyguards are like 300 pounds“.

 

Bryant was a skinny kid, and he was small compared to them. Then he said, “I am very courageous.” The fans cheered as Bryant joked about the whole event. Jay Leno asked if there was anything more and Kobe said they were just friends for the time being.

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Everyone was not happy about Kobe’s high school prom.

As we know already, Kobe Bryant was famous before making it to the NBA. But the fact that he also brought a famous R&B singer to prom with him made people feel differently about all the attention they were getting. Brandy was also a star on the TV show Moesha. Reporters started hovering in the area for Bryant and Brandy to arrive. Since they were fashionably late, the reporters started asking the students about Bryant and the prom.

Well, it’s safe to say the students were not excited to see the power couple. One said that it was not Bryant’s prom and that it was the Lower Merion High School prom. Soon after, Bryant arrived with Brandy in a limo. Reporters asked if she would be performing, to which she replied that she was only there to have fun.

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What do you think about the relationship between Kobe and Brandy? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Rijin Varghese

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Rijin is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been following the NBA for over a decade. He likes to learn about the nuances of sports, understand every player's contribution to a team, and also learn the logic behind player signings and team building.
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Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty