Kobe’s Daughter Gianna ‘GiGi’ Bryant: Most Moving Photos

Many photos, dating back years, demonstrate the deep bond between NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his little daughter, Gianna, who died at age 13 at her father’s side in the fatal helicopter crash.

In most pictures, GiGi, as the child was known, is ensconced in Kobe’s strong arms. In other pictures, she joins him on the basketball court, where she was hoping, even at a very young age, to continue his legacy. Kobe didn’t have a boy to follow him in basketball, but that didn’t deter Gianna. She hoped to be the person to further tradition. You can see pictures of the father and daughter pair throughout this article.

Horrifically, Gianna Bryant died with her dad in the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, the Sheriff’s Department confirmed. Gianna was a teenage basketball player who aspired to be in the WNBA.

Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, wasn’t on board the aircraft.

Here’s what you need to know:

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Kobe Was His Daughter’s Coach

The pair died on the way to participate in what they both loved: The sport of basketball. According to TMZ, Bryant and his daughter were heading to the Mamba Academy for basketball practice in Thousand Oaks. ESPN reported the father and daughter were going to a “travel basketball game.”

Kobe spoke to SLAM about coaching Gianna, who was known as GiGi. The site reported in March 2019 that Gianna and her AAU team “practice under his tutelage five times a week.”

This is how SLAM described one of Bryant’s coaching sessions with GiGi and the other girls: “They focused on their ability to finish around the rim, plus footwork and handles. At least twice, Bryant stopped everything and provided the entire team with a Detail-level lesson on ball movement and spacing.”

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Gianna Bryant Wanted to Join the WNBA

Like her dad, Gianna loved basketball, and she was good at it. In May, Bckonline reported that Kobe was coaching his daughter’s basketball team.

Kobe movingly talked about how Gianna was poised to carry on his legacy, quoting her as saying, “I got this,” when people said it was too bad Kobe didn’t have a boy to do so:

In the video, Jimmy Kimmel asks: “You think your daughter might want to play in the WNBA?”

Kobe, beaming with pride, responded, “She does for sure. This kid, man.”

“Wouldn’t that be great?” Kimmel said.

“Dude, man, I’ll tell you. The best thing that happens is when we go out, and fans will come up to me, and she will be standing next to me, and they will be like, ‘Hey, you gotta have a boy, you and Vi gotta have a boy, man, someone to carry on the tradition and the legacy,’ and she goes, ‘I got this.'”

Kobe then continued, “Yes, that’s right. Yes, you do, you got this.”

To SLAM, Kobe said: “The girls are making incredible progress. Just wait until you see us in six years. I have a year-by-year plan for them. We are going to keep adding pieces on a schedule I’ve already mapped out.”

The site reported: “She owns the court just like her father!”

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Gianna Was One of Kobe’s Four Children With Wife Vanessa

Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant had four children together. In June 2019, Kobe announced the birth of their fourth daughter, Capri Kobe.

They had three other daughters: Gianna, Natalia Diamante and Bianka Bella. Natalia, the oldest, is 17. You can learn more about all of Kobe’s kids here.

According to a 2006 report by Contact Music, Gianna was born just six minutes before the sixth child of Kobe’s fellow basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and his wife, Shaunie.

Me’arah Sanaa O’Neal “was born in Florida, California just six minutes after Shaq’s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant became a second-time father in Orange County, California. Bryant’s wife Vanessa gave birth to baby daughter GIANNA MARIA-ONORE at 2am,” the site reported.

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