17 Y/o Vanessa Bryant’s Classmates Once Refused to Believe Kobe Bryant Was Dating Her

Vanessa Bryant met Kobe Bryant in high school though others at her school refused to believe that the two were in a relationship 

Kobe Bryant burst onto the NBA scene at the same age that Vanessa Bryant was when she met him for the first time. It was in 1999 that the two had cross paths, leading to them catching feelings for one another almost instantaneously. 

At this point, the rising shooting guard was already an established member of the Los Angeles Lakers, gunning for NBA championships year in and year out. Vanessa on the other hand, was merely a senior in high school at Marina High School in Huntington Beach. 

Despite this, they would continue to have a relationship with one another and within 6 months of them dating, news broke that Kobe, South California’s apparent ‘most eligible bachelor’ had proposed to Ms. Laine (Vanessa’s maiden name). 

Also read: Kobe Bryant, Before Earning $136 Million, Wanted to Team Up with Michael Jordan on the Wizards

Vanessa Bryant’s school mate did not believe her when she said that she was dating Kobe Bryant 

When one of the most popular athletes in California starts to frequent one location to meet a singular person, it’s safe to say that word gets out pretty quick. Soon enough, everybody in the nation was chirping about Kobe and Vanessa’s relationship. 

Some however, were harder to convince than the rest about the existence of their relationship. According to the Los Angeles Times, Graham Finochio, a junior at the time, claimed that they had heard about it for a while but found it difficult to believe. “I was like, ‘yea right!’ And then it turns out to be true. And I was like, ‘Whoa dude!’” 

Them being engaged with her being just 17 years old was even more of a shock for the public. Her grandfather would confirm to the news that she was indeed engaged to the Lakers superstar. He would then say that she would be taken out of school, “because of the notoriety”. 

Kobe Bryant dropped an incredible amount of money on her wedding ring 

Despite having been in the NBA for a couple years, Kobe Bryant did not cheap out when it came to putting a ring on his soon-to-be-wife. The diamond ring he bought for her would be 7 carats and its worth at the time was estimated to be around $100,000. 

Though, at the time of their engagement, he was under his rookie contract extension that paid him around $11 million a season, before tax.

Also read: “Phil Jackson Started That Feud”: Robert Horry Accused Head Coach of Starting Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal Beef