Charisma Osborne knew he would be at the game, so before UCLA faced Connecticut at Pauley Pavilion in 2017, Osborne, then a top high school prospect, approached Kobe Bryant for a photo. As Osborne came forward with a friend whose family was close to Bryant, the former Lakers star asked her how she was doing. He already knew Osborne’s name.
Osborne, now a sophomore at UCLA, grew up a Lakers fan, but really, she was a Kobe fan. Four years after their brief meeting and one year after the five-time NBA champion died, she still is.