© Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
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It has somehow been more than five years since the tragic and sudden passing of Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. But Bryant’s legacy still lives on not only with NBA superstars, with whom he’s extremely popular, but across the celebrity sphere.
One of those celebrities just happens to be Blink-182 lead singer Mark Hoppus, who took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a story about spending time bowling with Bryant at a charity event.
Mark Hoppus Of Blink-182 Fondly Recalls Time He Went Bowling With Kobe Bryant
“One time Kobe invited us to go bowling for his charity foundation. We played a set on the lanes, and Andy Garcia stopped me in the men’s room to say he liked our band. Cool night. Thanks for including us, Kobe,” Hoppus posted alongside a picture of a signed Bryant jersey.
Bryant was widely regarded as one of the most cordial and welcoming superstars the league has ever seen. That continued with his mentorship of young players, including current WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu spoke at Bryant’s memorial service after his death and currently maintains a close relationship with his youngest daughters, Bianka and Capri.
“Today may feel like darkness. He was, in so many ways, a sun beaming, radiating, fixed in the sky,” Ionescu said at the memorial service. “I ask each of you, every girl dad, every human here with a voice, a platform and a heart to not let this sun set.”
Hoppus is far from the only music star to share stories about Bryant. Rapper Bow Wow went on Shannon Sharpe “Club Shay Shay” podcast recently and told a story about charity one-on-one game with Bryant.
“He took it for real. I left that gym and I said, ‘I will never play in the NBA, nor do I want to,’” he said before Sharpe asked how many points he scored “None! He smothered me, he had his thumb in my waist. He was hand-checking.”