In January 2020, the whole world mourned as we lost the legendary Kobe Bryant to a tragic helicopter crash. Sadly, Gigi Bryant and seven others also died in the accident.
As Vanessa Bryant put it, heaven gained two angels on that fateful day. Kobe had so much love for his daughter, and he was grooming her to follow in his footsteps as a basketball star. They shared so many special experiences together, so here are some of the best moments Kobe shared with Gigi prior to their untimely passing.
In 2008, Bryant won his first and only MVP title. He made sure to celebrate this momentous occasion with his family, and a photo of the 18-time All-Star giving Gigi a kiss with the MVP trophy in hand has got to be one of their best basketball moments together:
We all remember the time Stephen Curry's daughter, Riley, stole the show during one of the former's postgame interviews. Before Steph, though, Kobe was already bringing his daughters to press conferences years earlier.
After the Lakers won the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Bryant took both of his daughters, Natalia and Gigi, with him during his postgame presser. Gigi Bryant was only four years old at that time, and she looked so cute and happy sitting on her daddy's lap throughout the interview:
Recently, Gigi Bryant became a big fan of Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. Naturally, Kobe once brought his daughter to a Hawks game during the 2019-20 season.
Kobe could be seen dropping some of his basketball knowledge on Gigi. He was one of the smartest basketball minds ever, and he surely had a thing or two to teach his daughter.
The Hawks faced off against the Brooklyn Nets in December, which was around a month before their tragic accident. This was one of Kobe and Gigi Bryant's last public appearances.
Here is a clip of the the father-and-daughter pair sharing a wonderful moment courtside:
Grateful this video of Kobe imparting his wisdom is what we are left with pic.twitter.com/bBubPUDX4I
— Reese Waters (@reesewaters) January 26, 2020
Below is one of the many clips of Kobe and Gigi in action. In the brief video shared by Kobe himself on his Instagram, he's seen teaching his daughter the ways of the game through a little one-on-one action. The cherry on top of the cake is Gigi hitting the layup over her dad at the end of the clip. Kobe was clearly impressed. We're pretty sure these two had more than a few moments shared on the basketball court:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZLB_9CgpMB/?igshid=4q1ho5mzrolz
As posthumous tributes came pouring in, we were captured by a number of moving photos of Bryant showering his daughter with so much love:
Kobe was a huge loss not only to the basketball community, but certainly way beyond. However, even Bryant himself would likely agree that the loss of such a young (Gigi Bryant was just 13 when she passed away) and beautiful human being with such a bright future ahead of her is equally tragic, if not even more.
Rest in peace Mamba and Mambacita. You will always be remembered.
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