Widow, stars remember Kobe Bryant and daughter
Vanessa and Kobe Bryant with eldest daughter Natalia as a baby. Photo: Instagram
Vanessa Bryant has paid tribute to her husband Kobe and daughter Gigi on the one-year anniversary of their deaths, saying “it still doesn’t seem real”.
She joined NBA legends, sports teams and fans who remembered Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, who died along with seven others in a helicopter crash in California.
“I miss my baby girl and Kob-Kob so much,” Vanessa wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
“I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings.
“It still doesn’t seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers were given the day off to remember the fallen star.
Bryant was a five-time NBA champion and three-time NBA Finals MVP during his 20-year career with the Lakers.
He was elected posthumously to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Fellow Lakers legend Magic Johnson shared a photo of him and Bryant, while Black Panther actor Michael B. Jordan paid tribute with a photo of Bryant and Gigi and a heartfelt caption.
“Rest in power. You’ll never be forgotten,” Jordan wrote on Instagram.
Lakers players were given the day off prior to Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers to “manage that day however they see fit”, coach Frank Vogel said.
“It’s not really a day of remembrance,” he said. “This is more of a sombre tone type of day.”
The NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Eagles also paid homage to Bryant, who was beloved in the city, having grown up there.
