Taylor Swift has touching moment with Kobe Bryant’s daughter at L.A. concert

Taylor Swift has intersected with the sports world numerous times during her ongoing Eras Tour, but none more moving than what she did during the first of six sold-out concerts at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium on Thursday evening.

Swift honored her bond with late Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant by presenting his daughter Bianka with the hat that the pop star wears for her performance of hit song “22.” Swift took a moment to put the hat on Bianka’s head mid-song, as the L.A. crowd, seemingly aware of whom the child at the front of the stage was and her relationship to one of their city’s greatest sports icons, roared in approval.

Swift also pointed at Kobe’s widow and Bianka’s mother, Vanessa Bryant, before resuming her singing.

The Bryant family has known the pop superstar for years, and Kobe Bryant, who won five NBA titles during his 20 years with the Lakers, once presented Swift with a “championship” banner of her own at what was then-Staples Center in 2015 — honoring Swift’s status as the artist with the most sold-out shows in the venue.

This coming January will mark four years since Kobe Bryant and his then-13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed in a Los Angeles-area helicopter crash.

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