Taylor Swift, Kobe Bryant's Friendship Highlighted in Newsweek Archive

Taylor Swift shared a now-viral moment with Bianka Bryant, daughter of the late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, at her Eras Tour concert on Thursday night. Swift gave Bryant her hat, kissed her on the cheek, and hugged the 6-year-old.

What Swift fans might not know is that the singer and the Bryant family have shared a mutual respect for years.

Only months before Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in 2020, the five-time NBA champion said in an in-depth interview with Newsweek that he viewed Swift as a role model for himself and his daughters.

Here is an excerpt of that conversation:

"I think it's important to listen to people who do great things," Bryant told Newsweek. "Taylor's been at the top of the game for a very, very long time. How and why? How did she write? How did she get into that mental space to be able to create things over and over and over? I mean, it's a lot of pressure for her to follow up a number one album with a better album.

"I don't care if you like her music or you don't like her music. Look at what she's doing. It's unbelievable to be able to pull that off over and over and over and over. So I'll look at things like that to try to learn from them as much as I can. She's a sweet kid. I mean she was a sweetheart to my girls before she even blew up and became Taylor Swift, so that's why I like her. If she needs anything from me, I'm always there. But you can't have that level of consistent success and not be a killer. It's impossible."

Bryants have been 'Swifties' for long time

Bianka Bryant attended the first of Swift's six shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with her mother, Vanessa Bryant, and older sister, Natalia Bryant.

Vanessa Bryant, who was married to Kobe Bryant for nearly 20 years, shared via her Instagram story a photo of a custom jean jacket she wore to the show. The back of it features a photo of her late husband with Swift in 2015. The photo is from a concert the then-named Staples Center. Kobe Bryant presented Swift with a banner that night for the "most sold-out performances" at the venue.

The Instagram story also included a photo of Vanessa and Natalia wearing friendship bracelets that honored Kobe and "Gigi" (Gianna). A different photo showed a heart surrounding the lyrics "Say You'll Remember Me" from Swift's song "Wildest Dreams."

Swift once gifted Natalia Bryant a replica of the cardigan she wore in a music video for her 2020 album Folklore. In 2018, Vanessa Bryant shared a video of Natalia and Gigi singing along to Swift's "You Belong With Me," a video she reposted before Thursday's concert.

Vanessa Bryant shares interaction with Swift

Swift has made a habit out of giving away her hat to a fan while performing the song "22" during the Eras Tour. Thursday night was no exception.

Vanessa Bryant shared a photo of Bianka and Swift embracing on Instagram, followed by several other posts with pictures from the evening.

"We love you @TaylorSwift," Vanessa Bryant captioned one post.