Vanessa Bryant honoured late husband and NBA legend Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna during a special memorial ceremony hosted by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation on Monday.
She began her emotional eulogies for Gianna, aka Gigi, and Kobe by thanking everyone for being there, describing the âoutpouring of love and supportâ as so âuplifting.â
âIâd like to talk about both Kobe and Gigi but Iâll start with my baby girl first,â Vanessa began before breaking down in tears.
The 37-year-old mum described her daughter as âan amazingly sweet and gentle soulâ who still kissed her goodnight and good morning.
âShe was one of my very best friends,â said Vanessa, who added that Gigi was known for her love of baking, making people smile and doing TikTok dances.
Gigi was âconfident, but not in an arrogant wayâ and had been âlooking forward to high school.â
âWe will not be able to see Gianna go to high school,â said Vanessa through tears. âWe didnât get the chance to teach her how to drive a car. I wonât be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day.â
Vanessa added that Gianna âwouldâve been an amazing mummyâ and an incredible addition to the WNBA, a comment that earned cheers from the crowd.
âI cannot imagine life without her. ... I miss you, all of you, every day. I love you,â she said before moving on to honour her âsoulmate,â Kobe.
After acknowledging his career as a famous basketball player, she told the crowd that he was also her âsweet husbandâ and the father of their four daughters.
âHe was the most amazing husband. Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words. ... He would do anything for me,â said Vanessa, before detailing how romantic he was.
She said that he looked forward to Valentineâs Day and special anniversary trips, even making some of her favorite gifts by hand. She said that Kobe gave her the blue dress (as well as the notebook) that Rachel McAdams wore in the 2004 film âThe Notebookâ because McAdamsâ character wore the dress in a scene when she came back to her love, Noah.
Vanessa shared some of the things that Kobe wanted to do â renew their vows, see his daughter Natalia take over his company and travel the world together. She called him the âMVP of girl dads.â
âHe never left the toilet seat up. He always told the girls how beautiful and smart they are. He taught them how to be brave,â she said.
Vanessa noted that Kobe would âworry about me if I wasnât in my seat at the start of each gameâ because âfamily came first to him.â
âHe isnât going to be here to drop Bianka or Capri at pre-K or kindergarten. ... He isnât going to be able to walk our girls down the aisle. ... But I want my daughters to know the amazing person he was,â she said, before adding that both Kobe and Gigi âwere so full of joy and adventure.â
âGod knew they couldnât be on this earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together. Babe, you take care of our Gigi. ... We love you,â she concluded.
Kobe and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, last month along with seven other people: John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser; and Ara Zobayan.
Mondayâs memorial was held at the Staples Center, which is aptly known as âthe house that Kobe built,â and there didnât seem to be a single empty seat. Feb. 24, 2020, was selected as the date for the memorial because it represents both Kobe and Giannaâs basketball jersey numbers â 24 and 2 â as well as the 20 years Kobe spent both as a Laker and with Vanessa.
Earlier this month, a private funeral was held for Kobe and Gianna Bryant at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar, California.