Kobe Bryant’s sister Shaya Bryant-Tabb moved to Los Angeles with her brother and parents early in his NBA career. The Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott reported in 1996 that at the age of 19 Shaya along with her parents accepted Kobe’s offer to join him at his ocean-view home in the Pacific Palisades.
Kobe’s older sister Sharia Bryant remained in Philadelphia as she finished out her college volleyball career at Temple. During his rookie season, Kobe’s mother, Pam Bryant, described how affectionate her son was with his sister and family.
“After a game, it’s nothing for Kobe to come over and give me a kiss,” Pam explained to Los Angeles Times. “My daughter [Shaya] is 6-2 and she’ll sit in my lap. They just do things that are not considered cool by other kids, and they don’t care.”
Kobe’s Sisters Described Themselves as “Devastated” After Kobe’s Death
After Kobe’s tragic death, Shaya and Sharia released a statement about the loss of their brother. The sisters described themselves as “devastated” by Kobe’s death noting that “our lives are forever changed” in a statement released to NewsOne.
On behalf of our family, we join Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri in grieving the loss of Kobe and Gianna in such a tragic accident.
“We are devastated by the loss of our brother, son, our niece and granddaughter, and our hearts go out to all the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday. Our lives are forever changed.
Sharia released the same statement on Instagram signing the message from Shaya as well. Shaya prefers to stay out of the spotlight and her social media page was made private. The sisters ended the statement encouraging fans to donate to the Mamba Sports Foundation.
Thank you for your prayers, the numerous calls, texts, emails and cards.
“Please visit MambaOnThree.org to support the families affected by Sunday’s tragedy and to honor Kobe and Gianna’s legacy, please visit: MambaSportsFoundation.org
#Mambacita #Mamba #Family #GirlsDad.
Kobe Noted He Was Proud of His Sisters
During a 2016 ESPN interview with Ramona Shelburne, Kobe noted he was “proud” of his sisters and described them as “very smart.” Kobe seemed most proud of their ability to establish their own legacy.
“They’re very smart, college-educated [women],” Kobe noted to ESPN. “I’m really proud of them. They were able to get their own jobs, get their own lives, take care of themselves. Now they have a better sense of self, of who they are as people, instead of being resentful because they were relying on me. It was tough for me to do,” he says. There’s pain in his voice, not anger. “But it’s something you have to do, something you have to be very strong about.”
Kobe reflected on the challenges of knowing how to utilize his resources with his family in a letter he wrote to his younger self in The Players’ Tribune.
Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision…You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?…
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world — and that was extremely selfish of you…You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all: independence and growth.
