At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Kobe Bryant fans clamor to take their picture next to an image, forever immortalizing the basketball star.
"He's a great player, a Hall-of-Famer," museum visitor, and Bryant fan, Omar Whittingham said.
Bryant is pictured among other greats in the museum's basketball gallery.
In 2016, before the museum opened, Bryant walked the gallery with sports curator Damion Thomas. Thomas, who has been the curator for about six years, said the pair spent 45 minutes talking ideas and key moments.
Thomas said it was so clear what was important to Bryant -- that the pure history of basketball be maintained.
"One of the things Kobe prided himself on, was being a historian of the game," Thomas said. "He looked at past players and the games and saw himself as part of a larger trajectory."
Both Kobe and his wife Vanessa understood the importance of the museum and became founding donors in 2016. To be considered a founding donor, the donor must donate at least one million dollars.
Thomas said he will never forget the generosity of their donation, and the important signal it sent to the sports world.
"When we were able to get this gift from Kobe Bryant, it signaled to people that this was a place that people should care about," Thomas said.
The museum said only about three perfect of all its total artifacts are currently displayed, but eventually they will bring out a jersey that Bryant donated to them. The jersey was worn by Bryant in the 2008 NBA finals. They will also bring out a rare, candid pic of Bryant that perhaps shows a man who was much more than a basketball star.
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