“It Was a Shame”: NASCAR Star Ryan Blaney Was Once Starstruck By NBA Legend Kobe Bryant

Ryan Blaney is currently one of the most exciting stars of the American Stock Car Racing scene. The 2023 Cup Series champion has been the poster boy for Team Penske’s charge in motorsport. Yet, the #12 driver described how starstruck he got when he met the legendary NBA star, Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, who spent 20 glorious years at the pinnacle of Association Basketball with the LA Lakers, is regarded as one of the most prominent sporting personalities across the globe. But what set him apart from Blaney was his mentality — and an eagerness to learn about different sporting disciplines.

Blaney met Bryant in 2018 and was instantly pulled towards him. “I don’t get starstruck very often,” he began.

“But he was just an amazing — not only basketball player but what he did after basketball and what he did outside of the sport was pretty incredible. I didn’t expect the amount of interest he showed (in NASCAR). He wanted to learn everything about it. He asked really good questions,” he added.

But Bryant’s story is one of tragedy. He lost his life in a terrible helicopter crash in 2020. In hindsight, Blaney called it a misfortune of colossal degree that he could not show him more about the world of Stock Car racing.

He revealed, “That was something that really tickled me, how excited he was to learn about it. It was a shame we never got him out to a race.”

When Blaney paid homage to Bryant with special livery

Back in 2020, as the news of Bryant’s death emerged, Blaney was naturally taken by a rude surprise. At the following NASCAR Cup Series outing at the Auto Club Speedway, the #12 driver paid tribute to the LA Lakers maverick with a special livery design.

Blaney took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to write, “I was fortunate enough to meet Kobe & this is a great way to honor him, Gianna & all the victims.” His sponsor, Body Armor ran Bryant‘s iconic ‘Mamba’ colors and design on Blaney’s Ford Mustang.

The #12 driver even released special merchandise commemorating the legendary life of the basketball icon. The sum total of those proceeds was donated to Bryant’s charity — the Mamba Sports Foundation.