“Important to Listen to People Who Do Great Things”: When Kobe Bryant Praised “Killer” Taylor Swift

Kobe Bryant named a lot of people he used to look up to as inspirations in his life, but pop superstar Taylor Swift’s inclusion on the list originally surprised fans. He revealed in a 2019 interview with Jordan Harbinger that he would regularly listen to Swift’s music in his car. In fact, the 5x champion even shared a close personal friendship with the 14x Grammy Award winner.

He revealed to the radio host that one of the main reasons he was able to dominate his field was that he drew inspiration from others doing the same. He mentioned Swift, claiming his respect for her stemmed from her domination of the music charts, which is one of the most important metrics for artists to see how well their music performs. He said,

“I think it’s important to listen to people who do great things. So it’s not just genre-specific. It’s like Taylor has been at the top of the game for a very very long time. How and why? How does she write? How does she get into that mental space to create things?”

As someone who experienced the pressure of following a title-winning season with another successful campaign three times in his career, he understood the pressure that Swift faced, having to follow award-winning albums with others of the same caliber.

“It’s a lot of pressure to follow up a No. 1 album with a better album, and follow up with a better album. I don’t care if you like her music or if you don’t. Look at what she’s doing. It’s frightening stuff, and it’s unbelievable to be able to pull that off over and over and over.”

Bryant was most-known for his “Mamba Mentality” during his playing days. He credited Swift with having a similar mindset. He claimed for someone to be as successful as Swift, they needed to have a killer mentality in everything they did, and she clearly possessed it, as her domination of the charts showed.

“You can’t have that level of consistent success and not be a killer. It’s impossible. It’s impossible. She’s a killer.”

But Bryant’s admiration for the singer went beyond the professional realm. He also revealed that Swift was extremely friendly with his daughters and how that became a point of friendship between them as they grew.

Kobe Bryant revealed that Taylor Swift was kind to his daughters

Bryant and Swift became close friends after he surprised her at a show in 2015. It was a historic one, as she had just become the first person to sell out the Staples Center for a 16th time. He got on stage with her and revealed that the stadium had designed a banner in her honor.

Talking to Harbinger, he even revealed that despite Swift’s killer instincts in business, she was a kind person at heart and recalled when she took time out of her schedule to interact with his daughters, who were fans.

“She’s a sweet kid. I mean, she was a sweetheart to my girls before she even blew up and became Taylor Swift. So that’s why I’ll always, if she needs anything from me, I’m always there,” he said.

Even after his demise, the bond between Swift and Bryant’s family remains close. She even posed for pictures with Vanessa and her daughters Natalia, Bianka, and Capri after her sold-out “Eras Tour” show in Los Angeles.