Kobe gave two fans a signed pair of shoes for guessing his dog's name
Wednesday night marked Kobe Bryant's final stop in Denver, and to little surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to Denver Nuggets, 117-107.
During the end of the game, Bryant, who sat out the second half, began signing autographs for fans -- around 50 total -- and made sure to thank the thousands of Lakers fans that showed up:
#Lakers Fans lined up and cheering as Kobe leaves the court pic.twitter.com/rNxRrI5tp9
— Michelle Tuckner (@MichelleTuckner) March 3, 2016
A couple of lucky fans were given an autographed pair of Bryant's game-worn shoes ... but only after earning them.
Bryant told reporters that four fans (a pair of boys and a pair of young women) asked about his dog's name, and Bryant gave them a hint -- it's based on a character from the Harry Potter book series. After roughly 15 tries, the boys finally guessed his dog's name and Bryant gave them with his sneakers (via the Denver Post):
“No, they earned them,” Bryant said. “They wanted to know what the name of my pet dog was so I gave them a clue. I said ‘it’s in a (Harry) Potter film.’ So every time, they threw out like 15 names. The deal was if they got it, I’d give them my shoes. And they got it.”
Kobe Bryant autographs his shoes on the bench, hands them to 2 young Lakers fans pic.twitter.com/2H0rjipUHi
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) March 3, 2016
Bryant has a black lab named Crucio, who is named after one of the three Unforgiveabale Curses (h/t GQ):
That guess takes some serious Harry Potter knowledge. Well deserved.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @jovanbuha.