![]() Gigi wore the number two on her team at the time of her death, Kobe donned the number 24 in his final years as a Los Angeles Lakers star.īryant and his daughter are survived by his wife, Vanessa, and their three other children: Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. Years as a Laker and the amount of years Kob and I were together," Vanessa Bryant wrote in an Instagram caption. The date, 2-24-20, holds special meaning for his wife. ![]() "The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it's still hard for them to grasp they lost two beautiful souls."Ī public memorial has been scheduled for Bryant and Gigi at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. "Vanessa and the family wanted a private service to mourn their loss," reported ET, citing a source. The group was traveling from Orange County to Thousand Oaks for a basketball game at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy. ![]() 26 when the helicopter they were in crashed into a hillside in Calabasas. That the service was originally planned for Westwood Village Memorial Park but was changed.īryant, 41, his daughter, 13, and seven others were killed Jan. 7 at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar. Said the family held a private funeral Feb. Near their Orange County home last week, according to multiple reports. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant were laid to rest Dozens of public memorials and murals have been installed around the sprawling metropolis.Ī private funeral was held Feb. Lakers star LeBron James surpassed him on the night before Bryant’s death.īryant remained one of the most popular figures in Los Angeles well into retirement. The five-time NBA champion’s two retired jersey numbers - 8 and 24 - hang high above the arena where he became the third-leading scorer in league history. Money from ticket sales was to be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programs in underserved communities and teaches sports to girls and women.īryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, who moved from the Forum to Staples Center when it opened in 1999. The wrongful-death lawsuit claimed that the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was careless and negligent by flying in cloudy conditions.Īt the arena, fans were given a program containing photos, a purple KB pin and a T-shirt with photos of the father and daughter. The service began just hours after Vanessa Bryant sued the owner of the helicopter that crashed in the fog last month. ![]() On the scoreboard, the Bryant family’s life flashes by in pictures. The concourse was a sea of people dressed in the team colors of purple and yellow and others in black. … It made me realize he’s more than just that guy out on the court.” “I just wanted to thank him for being such an inspiration to me,” she said. The two-hour program concluded with “Dear Basketball,” Bryant’s Academy Award-winning short film.Īfter Jimmy Kimmel welcomed the crowd, Vanessa Bryant remembered the family’s life with Gianna and her three siblings and then eulogized her husband. Alicia Keys performed Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” later in the program, and Christina Aguilera sang “Ave Maria.” The ceremony began with Beyonce performing her songs “XO” and “Halo” with dozens of backup musicians. Thousands of Lakers fans, many wearing Bryant’s jersey or team colors, attended the tearful gathering to honor Los Angeles’ most popular athlete and a global basketball icon. The service took place at the downtown arena where Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for the final 17 seasons of his two-decade NBA career. “He had to bring them home to have them together. “God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other,” Vanessa Bryant said. Speaking at times through tears, Vanessa Bryant praised her husband’s devotion to their family as she addressed thousands of fans gathered at Staples Center to remember Bryant and 13-year-old Gianna. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant’s wife offered a poignant portrait of her NBA superstar husband and their daughter Monday at a packed memorial service for the two, who were among nine people killed last month in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.
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