Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has admirers from around the world. Aside from the skills he showed on the basketball court, people also loved him for the charm, humor, and charisma that he naturally brought out. While he had many die-hard fans, the former player himself was a die-hard fan of a certain film/book genre.
Three years after Bryant was taken from the world, his daughter sat down to revisit the thing that her father loved with a deep passion.
Kobe Bryant was a ‘Potterhead’
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People who have followed Kobe Bryant for a long time know that he was never shy about expressing his love for the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise. A member of the elite league of ‘Potterheads’, the NBA superstar embraced J. K. Rowling’s bestselling series and movies close to his heart. He found himself captivated by the immersive Wizarding World and everything that it had to offer to its viewers.
During a conversation with Ellen DeGeneres in September 2018, Bryant revealed that he has three things in his house that he considers to be his most prized possessions. One of them is the first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ personally signed by J.K. Rowling. “If the house is burning, I’m grabbing that,” said Kobe during the interview as the audience laughed. “Straight up, I’m grabbing that”.
Barely a few minutes after Kobe had proclaimed his love, Ellen surprised the player by bringing out a personalized set of Wizarding Robes, completed with a hat and a wand. Instead of the Hogwarts Insignia, the clothes carried the logo of The Los Angeles Lakers and Bryant’s ‘24’ at the back.
Overcome with joy on receiving such a wonderful gift, Bryant promised to wear them under and even adopt a different persona when adorning said robes.
“My name would be Mambamort,” said Bryant, making a clever play by combining his alias (Black Mamba) and the name of the titular antagonist in Harry Potter (Lord Voldemort).
Fortunately for fans, it didn’t take long for ‘Mambamort’ to come out in the open. Soon after the interview, the Black Mamba posted a picture on his Instagram account donning the complete set.
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Carrying on the legacy of ‘Mambamort’, Kobe’s daughter decided to get lost in the magic of the Wizarding World herself.
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Natalia Bryant enjoys the ‘Harry Potter’ experience
Natalia Bryant recently took to Instagram to share a series of stories with her 2.8 Million followers. They featured the 20-year-old dining at Fork N Film, a restaurant in Los Angeles. It prides itself on providing an experience that brings the cinematic universe and the culinary world together.
The first story showed Natalia watching the very first Harry Potter movie on a screen. Afterward, she was seen indulging in food items that were inspired by the movies. From a ‘Golden Snitch’ shaped item kept in the white box to a ‘potion’ that you can create yourself in a ‘cauldron’, the young Bryant was surrounded by items that made the world of Harry Potter more lifelike.
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The love of Harry Potter is everlasting. It does not pass away, but is carried on from generation to generation. With the Bryant’s, a similar thing seems to have followed.
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