Kobe Bryant talks with girls at the Her Time to Play basketball clinic

Bryant’s interest in women’s sports could be fully understood by the athletic events he attended regularly — from women’s college basketball games to women’s tennis to WNBA games.

After Bryant’s death, it was clear that many female athletes looked up to Bryant as if he were a big brother.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, in words shared on social media after Bryant’s death, thanked him for his support, which included checking on her after her “hard losses.”

Sabrina Ionescu, the Oregon guard who’s considered the best women’s hoops player in the nation, communicated several days a week with Bryant and would also see him and his daughter Gianna courtside at her games. “Everything I do, I do for him,” Ionescu said, fighting through tears during a postgame television interview after Oregon’s game on Sunday night against Oregon State. “And this season’s for him.”

And Connecticut’s women’s basketball team, Gianna’s favorite team, would often see father and daughter at games. The school laid out a No. 2 UConn jersey on the team’s bench before Monday’s exhibition game against Team USA in honor of Gianna.