1 day ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, Kentucky's Koby Brea shares how his dad prophesied he was "going to do it big"

One name that rhymes with Koby Brea is Kobe Bryant, and for Kentucky guard Koby Brea, that similarity is no coincidence. In an interview video shared by CBS Sports on Instagram on Monday, Brea revealed that the striking similarity between his name and that of the basketball legend was actually very intentional.

According to him, his father, an avid Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan, just swapped out the last letter of "Kobe" to make it "Koby,"

"My dad, he's a huge Lakers and Kobe fan," Brea said. "He got the chance to work with Kobe's agent and you know, when I was born, he just threw Kobe out there, changed the last letter and made me different. But Kobe's been one of my favourite players since I was born, and you know, just watching him, watching his mentality, and carrying that name, definitely it's important to me."

Brea's dad didn't name him after the basketball legend Kobe Bryant just because he was a fan; there was something deeper behind it. He gave him that name with the hope that his son would one day follow in the footsteps of greatness and pursue basketball at the highest level.

"My dad told me," Brea said. "When he named me, he kind of felt like something was telling him, you know, like, "I'm going to play basketball, and I'm going to do it big."

Now, with the NBA Draft just around the corner, it's starting to look like the dream is finally coming true. The 6-foot-7 guard is officially on the board for the 2025 NBA Draft after wrapping up a four-year college basketball journey.

Koby Brea spent his final college season with the Kentucky Wildcats, where he averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Before transferring to Kentucky, he played three seasons with the Dayton Flyers, steadily developing his game and building toward this moment.

ESPN's Mock NBA draft predicts Koby Brea to be picked by the Sacramento Kings

The 2025 NBA Draft is set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday at the Barclays Center in New York. In the lead-up to the big event, ESPN released its latest mock draft, projecting how the picks might unfold. According to their predictions, Koby Brea is expected to be selected in the second round as the No. 42 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings.

Duke's Cooper Flagg occupies the No. 1 spot as the projected first pick to be selected by the Dallas Mavericks. At the same time, Rutgers' Dylan Harper is projected to be the No. 2 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash