The flamboyancy of the late great Kobe Bryant remains unmatched to this date. A resurfaced clip on Instagram from a 1996 interview proved the same as it showcased his teenage persona as a whole. It captured an excited 18-year-old Kobe with the 17-year-old singer Brandy as the latter revealed insights into the basketball legend’s dating approach. She explained his efforts in detail, highlighting how Bryant used to pamper her on their special nights.
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“When Kobe comes pick me up at my house, he has a limo,” Brandy mentioned proudly while answering questions about their dating lives. She added, “He is like all up there like, ‘I have to impress this girl,'” to explain further the efforts of a young Kobe. The Los Angeles Lakers star’s sustained contagious laughter helped establish her point as she shed more spotlight on his preparations.
The artist revealed how Bryant used to have “Drinks in the limo,” for her. “Cokes, sprite, whatever you want he has it all prepared,” she added, highlighting how he used to spoil her on their dates. Soon after this, Kobe jokingly asked Brandy whether his approach was working, to which she replied, “Yeah, it’s working”.
Following this, the interviewer asked them about their process for payment during dinner nights. The Lakers guard flirtatiously answered, “Thanks to her good looks, I’m getting them for free”. “I say no more, just leave it at that,” he further added as his lady failed to hold back her laughter by his side. The entire interaction put on display the bond they had shared during those times.
The biggest highlight of their time together
Back in those days, Brandy was starring in a sitcom named “Moesha”, while working on her R&B singing career simultaneously. Soon after the 1996 NBA draft, Kobe made a guest appearance on the show during an episode called “The Whistle Blower”. The interview took place on the sets of the sitcom as the shooting guard made his acting debut days before his NBA debut.
He chose to do so as Brandy had agreed to go on a Lower Merion Township High School prom night with him sometime back. Interestingly, Kobe was initially too shy to ask her out for prom, so he took help in making that happen. Luckily, it all panned out, as she later stated, “I saw he was going somewhere in life”. She admired his ambitious nature, thus, she “asked my mom, and she said yes”.
The moment turned out to be iconic as it put the focus entirely on Bryant just weeks before the draft. Kobe’s black tux with no tie gave birth to one of the most memorable moments in his journey, as right after that he had to step onto the NBA court. The rest became history.
