Former NBA player Jason Terry has enjoyed his retirement coaching youth girls basketball. Unfortunately, his daughter’s team was scheduled to play against Gianna Bryant before the tragic helicopter crash that also killed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Terry expressed that Gianna was a walking image of her dad Kobe, per Selby Lopez of The Dallas Morning News
“[Gianna] was a walking image [of Kobe Bryant]. I watched her shoot one of her last 3-point shots. It was right in front of me and it was the same body mannerisms. She had it, she embodied it and she was the same competitor,” Terry said. “It was funny. Before I came to work today, my youngest is in the driveway shooting baskets. My second-youngest now tells me she’s gonna now play basketball. And that’s because of GiGi.”
Terry played in the NBA for 19 seasons, averaging 13.4 points and 3.8 assists. He last played in 2018 with the Milwaukee Bucks before announcing his retirement in September 2019.
The 42-year-old Terry had a ton of his respect for the Lakers great. In 2016, he even admitted that Bryant was the best player of the generation over both Tim Duncan and LeBron James.
Bryant and Terry played against each other 42 times in the regular season and four times in the playoffs. Bryant won 24 of the matchups, averaging 26.9 points against his teams.
Terry also expressed that he was sitting down with Bryant the day before the crash.
“Saturday, when I got in, I was scouting Kobe's team and was sitting right next to him when I coached his daughter [Gianna Bryant],” Terry said. “She hit a 3, she turned, he smiled, she smiled, and she got back on defense. That memory is just in my mind. It's just heartbreaking.”
Kobe Bryant was a five-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, and the MVP in 2008 with the Lakers. He'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when the list is announced later this year.
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