Duane Washington Jr. Has A Special Connection To Kobe Bryant

April 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Duane Washington Jr. told the Big Ten Network (via 247Sports) that he knew Kobe Bryant as simply, "Uncle Kobe," and oddly, they almost never talked b-ball. He said, "It was family time. It was playing Sorry or The Game of Life at my uncle's house, just hanging out with the family, or going to a game and going to get something to eat after the game. I never got to talk basketball with him. One day, we're going to be able to but our time here together we weren't able to and I think that just shows that he was more than just a basketball player and he had such an impact on a lot of different people in this world."

He added that one of the first times he interacted with Bryant was when he was very young. Washington Jr. said that Bryant had his arm around him and marveled at how big he had gotten. "I remember we walked away and he didn't say goodbye and then I looked at him and I seen him pointing at me. And he was pointing at me and his finger was like, it was his pointer finger, and it was all the way sideways. And I was like, 'Uncle Kobe, your finger messed up.' And then he was like, 'Yeah, I know.'" Ever the family man, Kobe Bryant surely would be proud of Duane Washington Jr.'s college basketball career.

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