'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Top Class of 2025 prospect Aaliyah Chavez may be one of the biggest rising stars in women's basketball, but she has shown she can be starstruck, too. This happened when Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late NBA great Kobe Bryant, started following her on Instagram.
The No. 1 overall prospect from the Class of 2025 was further elated when Bryant reshared her Instagram story, which is the reaction to the late Kobe Bryant's widow following her.
Trending
Chavez reposted a screenshot of Bryant sharing her reaction.
Chavez has been a big Kobe Bryant fan, and while she has hung out with NBA and WNBA stars before, getting Vanessa Bryant to follow her on social media was big for her on a personal level.
Aaliyah Chavez finally gets her Naismith National Player of the Year trophy
In March, the Naismith Awards revealed the two winners for the 2025 Naismith High School Player of the Year award: Aaliyah Chavez for the girls and Darryn Peterson for the boys. However, Chavez has not yet received her trophy, but that changed on Wednesday.
Eric Oberman, the president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club, which administers the Naismith awards, was present when Chavez finally received her trophy. He released a statement after he gave it to her.
"Without question, they are the best of the best, the most outstanding high school girls’ basketball players in the nation. Then they go on and play in college and to see them dominate at that level, too," Oberman said.
In getting the award, Chavez now officially joins the likes for former winners, such as Sarah Strong, Juju Watkins, Kiki Rice, Raven Johnson and Paige Bueckers.
She will be heading for Oklahoma next season, and Chavez will be joining the Sooners with a ton of hype, especially with all the accolades she has won this year, including the Gatorade National Player of the Year, the Naismith National Player of the Year, being a McDonald's All-American, playing in the Jordan Brand Classic and giving Monterey a state championship.
