Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa honored the late basketball legend on what would have been his 47th birthday.
In an Instagram post published August 23, Bryant shared an old photo of herself kissing Kobe on the cheek, writing, "We love and miss you and Gigi so much. Sending our love to you. Happy birthday, baby."
The post generated more than two million likes as well as comments from LeBron James, Kris Jenner and other celebrities. Kobe's daughter Natalia also honored her dad, sharing a photo of Kobe blowing out candles on a birthday cake as she stood next to him. She captioned the photo with a heart emoji.
Vanessa and Natalia's posts honoring the legend were among thousands shared on the 23rd. The NBA, sports networks and Bryant's former teammates also got in on the action. Vanessa reposted a tribute post from the Los Angeles Lakers which showed Bryant's statue outside Crypto.com Arena with the caption, "Mamba Forever."
August 24 marks "Kobe Bryant" day, honoring the legend's 8 and 24 jerseys. In a post on Instagram shared by Vanessa, la28 wrote, "Today on August 24, we’re celebrating Kobe Bryant: 2x Olympic Gold Medalist and 5x NBA Champion. Designed by Vanessa Bryant, his ‘A’ represents his unparalleled basketball legacy, grit and impact on the city of Los Angeles."
It was in January 2020 when Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
The group was traveling to a youth basketball tournament at Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks in heavy fog, causing the pilot to become disoriented and lose control of the helicopter—crashing into a hillside.
The National Transportation Safety Board later ruled the later ruled the crash was caused by pilot error and not mechanical failure.
Bryant and Gigi were survived by Vanessa and his three daughters Natalia, Capri and Bianka.