Meet late NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s dual-sport nephew, Jett Washington: the teen is an elite high school athlete who applies the ‘Mamba mentality’ to basketball and American football

Here’s everything we know about the rising star who gets his name from John Travolta’s late son, per The New York Times.

Jett Washington plays both basketball and American football

Jett Washington has shown that he has Bryant’s famous “Mamba mentality” and he applies it not only to basketball, like his late uncle, but also to football, like his father. He reportedly started playing both sports at around nine years old.

Right now, he’s a four-star safety and wide receiver for Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School football team, and also plays on the school’s basketball team. On being a dual-sport athlete, Washington once said, “They’re both equal, because you put in so much work in both,” per Las Vegas Weekly.

Recently, he was added to the 2025 Polynesian Bowl all-star game.

He had his stand-out game at his late uncle Kobe Bryant’s home court

In January, Washington played at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles. This was formerly the Staples Centre, where Bryant won five NBA championships between 2000 and 2010; it lives on in sporting history as “the house that Kobe built”.

During his game, Washington scored 33 points under the roof where his uncle’s retired jersey still hangs, including a three-pointer that sent the game into overtime. Interestingly, 33 was also his uncle’s high school jersey number. Talk about serendipity!

Even though his team didn’t win, Washington told The US Sun, “It means a lot playing in the house he built, and playing where he played.”

How does Jett Washington deal with the pressure of being Kobe Bryant’s nephew?

Washington’s breakout game at the Crypto.com arena came with some pressure, but in the athlete’s own words to Robinson, he was “trying not to think about it”. People began recognising him after a report by Los Angeles Times, but despite all the attention, he also told Robinson that he wants to try to keep enjoying basketball, because having fun was how he fell in love with the game.

What is his dream school?

While Washington has not been scouted in basketball yet, he is raking in offers from top American football universities across the country, per The New York Times, including Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA and Texas A&M. While Washington’s father told The Athletic that he is strongly considering Notre Dame and Oregon, his dream school is actually USC; he’s still waiting to hear from them.

He lives by some solid advice from his uncle

Washington’s father told The Athletic that “Jett was Kobe’s guy … Kobe used to tell me, ‘I need him every summer to come work with me.’ He would give Jett words of wisdom. Anytime Jett would play in something, he’d send his uncle a clip, and Kobe would make a comment. Kobe would send him back emojis or tell him to make this adjustment or that adjustment. They were close.”

He also mentioned that his son and his cousin, the late Gianna Bryant, used to be close and played basketball together. When playing basketball, Washington wears a No 2 jersey, just like his cousin did.

Washington himself told Robinson that his uncle would make him feel special and would stay up to date with whatever his nephew was up to. He added that Bryant’s best piece of advice to him was, “If you want something, you got to work for it. It’s not going to be handed to you.”