Ahead of its 2020 draft, the WNBA honored recently deceased young basketball players Gianna Bryant, the late Kobe Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, and teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester.

The WNBA “drafted” the three young women tragically taken from the world in a January 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

Gianna Bryant and teammates Alyssa and Payton, along with members of their family, were on a helicopter on that terrible day, losing their lives as they were on their way to a basketball game at the Mamba Academy. All three had dreams of playing professionally one day, with Bryant's daughter known as a gifted player in her own right like her father.

The three girls drafted by the WNBA were spoken highly by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert on Friday evening ahead of the draft's official start. Vanessa Bryant — Kobe's widow and mother to four daughters including “Gigi” — also recorded a message of thanks to the women's professional basketball league for the honor and sharing the memory of her late daughter.

Soon afterwards, the New York Liberty — possessing the first overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft — selected Oregon Ducks standout point guard Sabrina Ionescu, a gifted athlete on the hardwood and multi-record holder.

The 22-year-old California native owns the record for most career assists in men's and women's history in the Pac-12, along with holding the distinction as the only NCAA player, both men and women, to record more than 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in her collegiate career.