Kobe Bryant has had an old connection with the ESPY awards. The Black Mamba himself secured 4 ESPY awards during his NBA career. However, the 5x NBA champ has even a stronger connection with the venue where Ciara held her concert as an extension of ESPY awards.

Notably, the awards were held at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theater, and the concert was held at the nearby Crypto Arena. Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland, Victoria Monet, and Normani showed up to catch up on the performance. Among the notable names, were also Vanessa Bryant and daughter Natalia. Sharing a few clips and photos from the concert, Vanessa wrote, “We are so proud of you @ciara!!! Keep doing your thing mama! Had so much fun hanging out with my girls (and my baby @nataliabryant) last night. We love you so much!”

In a separate instance, Vanessa shared a post posing with Kobe Bryant’s photo. The 42-year-old donned the same crown-shaped cap that Ciara wore during her concert. The cap seemed to be more of a reference to her caption for the Black Mamba post. She mentioned her late husband in the caption with a heart and a crown emoji.

Notably, the venue for the concert — Crypto Arena — was originally known as the Staples Center. But after the Black Mamba’ passing away, it gained popularity as “The House That Kobe Built.” This was in recognition of the 5x NBA champ’s two decade long career with the LA Lakers. In fact, at the time of the Staples Center being renamed to Crypto.com Arena, Vanessa had stated that the center will be “forever known as ‘The House That Kobe Built.'”

Yet another reason for the 42-year-old’s memories being triggered could be the award night itself. As stated earlier, Kobe Bryant had himself won 4 ESPY awards. These included Best NBA Player award in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Apart from this, he also won 2016 ESPY Icon award, and 2006 Under Armor Undeniable Performance ESPY Award.

What did the 2024 ESPY Awards bring for the basketball community?

The Dallas Mavericks had their first player after Dirk Nowtizki’s 2011 win to secure the Best NBA Player award. Notably, the 2024 Best NBA player went to Luka Doncic and the Best WNBA Player went to Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson. This is the first ESPY award for Doncic. The 2023-24 season brought an impeccable run for the Mavs star, as he became the player with the highest points and ppg this season.

Meanwhile, this is third ESPY award for A’ja Wilson, as she secured the Best WNBA Player award last year as well. And this year, apart from re-claiming the honor once again, she also won Female Athlete of the Year. Notably, Wilson led her Aces to the 2023 WNBA championship with an impressive stat line of 23.8 points, and 9.9 rebounds in the playoffs. She also secured WNBA Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023.

“It’s crazy to think that a young girl that didn’t even want to play basketball is now up in the running for even one ESPY,” she said in a videotaped remark, as per ESPN. As for other awards for the basketball community, Caitlin Clark won Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports category, JuJu Watkins secured Best Breakthrough Athlete award, Celtics’ Jaylen Brown claimed Best Championship Performance. Caitlin Clark won yet another award — Best Record-Breaking Performance — for being crowned as all-time scoring leader in NCAA basketball.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.