Kobe Bryant paid homage to Taylor Swift in the arena he helped make famous earlier this week.

Access Hollywood reports Bryant was on hand at the Staples Center Friday night for the first of five sold out shows Swift is scheduled to perform over the next several days as part of her "1989" tour.

One of the highlights of the evening came with the LA Lakers legend took to the stage and sang Swift's praises for her being on course to set a record for most sold out performances given at the arena. Her Aug. 26 show will mark her 16th career sell-out.

"Sixteen is a very special number here in Los Angeles because 16 is the same amount of championships that we have as a Lakers franchise," Bryant told the crowd as Swift beamed with appreciation. "To celebrate those championships, we do something very special. We hang banners. That's what we do."

It was then that Bryant presented Swift with her own championship banner for having reached her aforementioned milestone

"I just thought you were going to come out and wave to the crowd," said Swift. "This is an amazing surprise!"

Swift's banner is expected to be prominently displayed in the arena, right alongside all the others won by Lakers legend such as Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West and Shaquille O'Neal.

Later, Swift took to Instagram to post a photo of the famed arena and all the banners hanging from the rafters, captioning it, "The banners up at Staples center right now because WHAT IS LIFE EVEN."

Meanwhile, Bryant and the Lakers open training camp in October looking to put the stench of back to back losing seasons behind them. The Hall of Fame bound Bryant has missed most of the season in both those years nursing an assortment of ailments.