Inside Kobe Bryants Beautiful Relationship With Brandy

As the world grieves the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, a sweetly nostalgic moment from his longago past is also being remembered. Even as a high school student, Kobe was attracting a lot of attention for his mad basketball skills. He did, however, have one thing in common with just about every other high school kid a celebrity crush on singer and actress Brandy Norwood. Still just 18 years old, Bryant was invited to the 1996 Essence Awards, an event that Norwood, who already had a platinum album under her belt, was also attending. Best known as just Brandy, the young superstar was also making a splash on TV as Moesha in the hit UPN show of the same name. Bryant was a high school basketball superstar at the time of the Essence Awards according to ESPN, he was the alltime leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania high school history. A few months later, however, he would join the Los Angeles Lakers, fresh out of high school only the sixth player in NBA history to skip college play