Vanessa Bryant reminisces about Gianna’s legacy with a heartwrenching IG post. Kobe Bryant’s second eldest was as dedicated to the game as her father, if not more. She had dreams larger than life, and these continue to inspire till today. Looking back at one of the most heartwarming tributes to Gianna, Vanessa reflected on her daughter’s impact.

Marking 5 years since her tragic passing, the entrepreneur re-shared an old IG post by Overtime on her story. The carousel post had several snaps and snippets sharing tributes to Gianna. The first featured a handwritten letter by Kobe’s daughter for the UConn Huskies. 

“When you think you can’t, UConn,” a 10-year-old Gianna wrote to motivate the team after their loss in the 2017 Final Four. This is the team she had always wanted to play for. The letter was addressed to UConn head coach Geno Auriemma who also had close ties with Bryant. 

Another image showed a special Huskies jersey featuring Gigi’s jersey No. 2 to pay homage to her. “You changed the game baby girl, #2 Gigi” Vanessa wrote in her story.

“Mambacita is forever a Husky,” the program captioned the photo which was shared on social media. Later on X, the team wrote, “Kobe and Gianna meant a lot to our program. Our thoughts are with the Bryant family. Mamba Mentality will live on forever, but they are deeply missed,” along with sharing a picture of the Bryant and Gigi wearing matching UConn merch. If Gigi were here, she would have probably been playing in her dream school.

Gianna Bryant made a big declaration!

Not just dreaming, she was working hard to make her wish come true. She had the same Mamba mentality and competitiveness to win. She would have probably been in her freshman year now, slowly building her way toward the pro league. Apart from basketball skills, she was quite skilled at handling concerned fans as well.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Bryant recalled how Gianna had an apt answer for fans who thought the Bryants needed a son. When Kimmel asked about whether Gianna had any plans to play in the WNBA, the Los Angeles Lakers legend proudly detailed, “The best thing that happens is when we go out, and fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me, and they’ll be like, ‘You gotta have a boy, man. You and [Vanessa] gotta have a boy….And she’s like, ‘Oy! I got this! You don’t need no boy for that, I got this.’”

Kobe Bryant was a proud girl dad. He once mentioned how Gianna was a huge fan of Gabby Williams and always watched her game. After playing for the UConn, Williams went on to play in the WNBA after getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls as the 4th overall pick. Gianna might not have gotten the chance to show her true potential but she did make a difference.