Kobe Bryant’s nephew, Jett Washington, has committed to a college football program and will look to continue his uncle’s legacy following the former NBA superstar’s passing in 2020.
Washington, a highly rated safety in ESPN’s class of 2026 and a 247Sports five-star recruit, has announced that he will be playing for Oregon. This makes him the Ducks’ highest-ranked defensive player for said class.
Washington is also the No. 22-ranked safety in the entire class.
“I have that great time with [Oregon defensive backs coach Chris Hampton] and the coaching staff,” he told ESPN. “I loved the way they treated me out there. My relationship with them has been going the right way ever since I started talking to them.”
The 17-year-old, who stands at 6ft 5in and weighs 210 pounds, is heading into his final season for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, having helped the team win a state championship with 38 tackles and five interceptions as a junior.
Jett Washington Has The Genes
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Jett Washington had no choice but to be athletic. Kobe Bryant is his uncle, but his father, Jerrod Washington, was a running back at Virginia before being drafted by the New England Patriots in 1994. His mother, Sharia Washington, Kobe’s oldest sister, also played volleyball at Temple.
“Jett was Kobe’s guy,” Washington’s father said. “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.”
The teenager is a stud on the basketball court, too, which is no surprise, also leading Bishop Gorman to back-to-back state championships.
The youngster was close to both Kobe and his daughter Gianna, who was also killed in that tragic helicopter crash in 2020.
He wears the No. 2 as a basketball player in his cousin’s honor.
