--- description: Kobe Bryant has never been shy about expressing his love for all things Harry Potter. title: Kobe Bryant's Dog's Name Proves His Harry Potter Obsession Is Still Going Strong image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcac332b0545f911/698880172dce011c3e9e8098/kobe-bryant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kobe Bryant's Dog's Name Proves His _Harry Potter_ Obsession Is Still Going Strong  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 3, 2016 5:48 PM CUT  Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes the court against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on March 2, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes the court against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on March 2, 2016 in Denver, Colorado.Doug Pensinger/Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 3, 2016 5:48 PM CUT Kobe Bryant has never been shy about expressing his [love for all things _Harry Potter_](http://www.gq.com/story/kobe-bryant-harry-potter-superfan?mbid=synd%5Ftpg "undefined"). So it’s no surprise his fascination with the Wizarding World came up again during the Los Angeles Lakers’ Wednesday night game against the Denver Nuggets. Bryant was benched the entire second half of the game due to a sore right shoulder, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying himself. As he sat watching his team lose to the Nuggets, the [five-time NBA champion](http://time.com/4129805/expect-big-things-out-of-kobes-bryants-retirement/ "undefined") struck a deal with some young fans sitting behind him. He told them that if they could guess the name of his dog, he would give them the sneakers off his feet. “They wanted to know what the name of my pet dog was so I gave them a clue,” Bryant told [_The Denver Post_](http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2016/03/02/how-fans-earned-a-pair-of-kobe-bryant-autographed-sneakers-during-his-farewell-to-denver/13970/ "undefined"). “I said, ‘It’s in a \[_Harry_\] _Potter_ film.’ So every time, they threw out like 15 names. The deal was if they got it, I’d give them my shoes. And they got it.” > [](https://twitter.com/TheCauldron/status/705250386639245312) **Read More:** [Kobe Bryant Opens Up About His Decision to Retire](http://time.com/4132275/kobe-bryant-retire-2/ "undefined") Turns out, Black Mamba dog’s name is Crucio, a nod to one of the three [Unforgivable Curses](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG4XLZUAot4 "undefined") in the fantasy series. However, even though its name has some sinister origins, the pup looks to be pretty adorable. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4246417/kobe-bryant-dog-name-harry-potter-obsession/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4246417/kobe-bryant-dog-name-harry-potter-obsession/"},"headline":"Kobe Bryant's Dog's Name Proves His Harry Potter Obsession Is Still Going Strong","datePublished":"2016-03-03T17:48:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:30:42.483Z","description":"It's named after one of the three Unforgivable Curses","url":"https://time.com/4246417/kobe-bryant-dog-name-harry-potter-obsession/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Basketball","Sports topic","Athletes","Harry Potter","Kobe Bryant","NBA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcac332b0545f911/698880172dce011c3e9e8098/kobe-bryant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcac332b0545f911/698880172dce011c3e9e8098/kobe-bryant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Los Angeles Lakers v Denver Nuggets","caption":"Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes the court against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on March 2, 2016 in Denver, Colorado.","creditText":"Doug Pensinger/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4246417/kobe-bryant-dog-name-harry-potter-obsession/","name":"Kobe Bryant's Dog's Name Proves His Harry Potter Obsession Is Still Going Strong"}}]}] ```