PARIS, France — It has been over four years since basketball icon Kobe Bryant's untimely passing, but a former protégé of his from Washington state still feels his impact as she makes her Olympic debut in Paris.
"Even after his passing, he's continually showed up for me when I needed to hear from him," Hailey Van Lith told reporters at a Paris Olympics press conference. "Seen a lot of things lately that really just hit hard on what he did for me and what he did for my career. Anytime I feel that I start to doubt where I'm at or what I'm doing, I'm just reminded of Kobe's undeniable desire to play and be great and he saw some of himself in me and so that's an honor and yeah, I'm going to do my best to be authentic to myself because that's what he would want me to do."
Van Lith is part of Team USA's 3x3 basketball squad, which won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She could join Bryant among the ranks of Olympic gold medalists in basketball, as Kobe won gold medals at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
After starring at Cashmere High School, Van Lith went on to the University of Louisville, where she led the Cardinals to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She later transferred to Louisiana State University, where she and the Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight in 2024 before a loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Van Lith announced after the season that she would be transferring to Texas Christian University.
Van Lith and the U.S. 3x3 team will begin Olympic competition on July 30.