Vanessa Bryant honored her and Kobe Bryantthe deceased daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant‘s, 18th birthday in a special way!
On Saturday, Vanessa hosted a special basketball camp through the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation – which honors Gigi and Kobe’s mission and legacy of creating sports opportunities for boys and girls in underserved communities.
Vanessa shared a series of videos from the camp – held at the Lakers’ training facility – which hosted 100 boys and girls, who wore uniforms with Gianna’s basketball number (2) as they practiced and had the opportunity to meet Vanessa and her daughters. , Natália, Bianka and Capri.
“In honor of Gianna’s 18th birthday, we hosted a special @MambaMambacitaSports Skills Academy basketball camp with @nikela, @lakers and @uscwbb to share my daughter’s PLAY GIGI’S WAY™ spirit with boys and girls from local community organizations from Los Angeles,” she wrote in the caption. an Instagram video shared Saturday. “We love seeing their passion for basketball, embracing the joy, curiosity and competitiveness, never taking any opportunity for granted, just like Gigi. #PlayGigisWay❤️ #HappyBirthdayGigi #18 5-1-06.”
In another video montage of the eventthe mother of four wrote: “Today we gathered over 100 boys and girls from @bgcofwhittier, @wsgvbgc, @bgclaharbor to join us at the @lakers facility for a memorable @MambaMambacitaSports Skills Academy basketball camp to honor the My Gigi’s 18th birthday.”
She added: “We are grateful to our dedicated partners @nikeLA, @uscwbb and all the coaches who made the day even more special 🦋 #GiannaBryant #MAMBACITA #PlayGigisWay❤️#2 🖤🤍.”
In the clip, Vanessa also shared a special message for young athletes.
“We’re here to celebrate Gigi’s 18th birthday, so I’m so happy to see you all here to play with joy and curiosity like she always did,” she said.
Participants received basketballs and the latest sneaker from Gianna’s Nike collection, the Kobe 8 Mambacita.
The official Mamba e Mambacita organization also shared a video of the day featuring the young athletes.
Gianna’s 18th birthday would have been May 1st. Vanessa took to Instagram to share an emotional post for her daughter and highlight the milestones she would have marked this year.
“Happy birthday to my beautiful girl, Gigi! I love you. I miss you. I’m so proud of you. 2024 was your year. You would be graduating high school and choosing which college to go to. (I would have been trying to maximum convince him to stay close to home)”, she wrote. “I’m proud of the change in sports that you and Dad worked so hard on. You continue to motivate me and inspire women and girls daily. .”
Gianna was 13 years old when she died next to her father, Kobesix other passengers and the pilot in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.
Since the deaths of her husband and daughter, Vanessa has continued to keep their legacy alive through the nonprofit organization. In February, Vanessa and her three daughters attended the unveiling of the Kobe statue in the Crypto.com areamarking his first return to the site since his and Gianna’s memorial service.
“It goes without saying that today is an especially sad day for us… I want to thank everyone for being here to show your love for Kobe and our family,” Vanessa said at the end of the ceremony. “This moment isn’t just for Kobe, it’s for all of you who have rooted for him all these years.”
In February, ET spoke to Vanessa’s best friend, Kelly Rowlandwho praised her strength and resilience.
“Vanessa is one of the strongest women I know,” Rowland told ET, adding that the event was “a beautiful space (and) a beautiful moment.”
“Hearing from so many people who love it, I was just blessed to be a part of the space, for sure. He continues to inspire me; just talking about Kobe and (the) Mamba mentality, and being able to give back to so many generations to come,” she added. “I feel like his legacy.”
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