Who was Gianna Bryant?

• Daughter of basketball star Kobe Bryant.
• Gianna Bryant died in a terrible accident with her father.
• She shared his love for the sport.

Gianna Bryant was just 13 years old when she died in a terrible helicopter accident on the way to Mamba Sports Academy, the basketball school founded by her father. Neither she nor her father Kobe Bryant and the eight people who accompanied them survived. But, who was Gianna Bryant?

Gianna Bryant was the second daughter of the happy marriage that Vanessa and Kobe Bryant built after meeting in 1999 when Kobe was 20 years old and Vanessa was 17. It was love at first sight. A year later, the athlete asked for Vanessa’s hand and she became his wife in 2001, according to Mamás Latinas.

Who was Gianna Bryant?

Two years later, in 2003, Natalia, a beautiful girl came into their lives. It was in 2006 when the basketball star’s second daughter Gianna Bryant came into this world. She inherited her father’s talent and passion for sports.

Ten years later, in 2016, the Bryants welcomed Bianka Bella, a sweet little baby who captivated everyone. And last but not least, she would be joined in 2019 by Capri Kobe, the youngest daughter of Vanessa and Kobe Bryant arrived a year before the terrible accident that claimed the lives of her sister and dad in 2020.

Gianna followed in Kobe Bryant’s footsteps

The second of the Bryant’s four daughters was born on May 1, 2006. From a very young age she accompanied her father to the courts and it was there that she developed her passion for the sport.

Her nickname was ‘Gigi’ and she was frequently highlighted on Bryant’s Instagram. Although the sports star did not usually share many details of his personal life, he was proud to show off his daughters.

Gianna Bryant had a talent for sports

According Vogue, Gianna Bryant trained at the Mamba Academy, founded by Kobe Bryant, from the time she was a child. In fact, that’s where they were going when they died tragically. Gianna also played with her father at home every night.

Kobe Bryant once said that his daughter Gigi spent hours in front of the television watching basketball games. In addition, the little girl frequently accompanied him to his games with the Lakers at the Staples Center.

Gianna was her father’s pride and joy

As a result of growing up playing sports, Gianna had an extremely competitive personality, as Kobe Bryant said in an interview with The New Yorker. «The girl is like me,» he said in the interview.

According to Vogue in a conversation with Jimmy Kimmel, Kobe said that he saw in her as an heir to his legacy. During the interview the athlete said that when people said that he should have a boy, Gigi replied: «I already have that covered.» Bryant wanted his daughter Gianna, whom he also called ‘Mambacita’ after his own nickname ‘Black Mamba’, to study at the University of Connecticut and chart her way to the Women’s National Basketball Association. Sadly, that would never happen. Click here to see an excerpt from the interview.