Great White Shark Named After Kobe Bryant

A Great White Shark only previously known as #24 by Marine Conservation Science Institute, has been renamed as Kobe Bryant in their Guadalupe Island database.

Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven other passengers in January, actually visited the island back in 2016 and of course the number 24 is significant as that was the number of his LA Lakers shirt.

The former NBA superstar sadly died in a helicopter crash earlier this year

The basketball legend even went cage diving with sharks, in 2013, although the crew he was with didn’t have flippers big enough for him, so he went down in his Nikes. That gives a whole new meaning to Just Do It.

Kobe Bryant, along with Shark Diver founder Martin Graf, off Guadalupe Island in 2013. (Photo via SharkDiver.com)

It’s said he first became interested in sharks when he was growing up in Italy as a child. Kobe Bryant the Great White is around 10 years old about 12 feet in length. 

Kobe was an advocate and lover of sharks - so much he even tweeted about them