Vanessa Bryant Calls Late Husband Kobe Bryant the ‘Best Daddy’ as She Honors the ‘Girl Dad’ on Father’s Day

By | June 18, 2024

 

 

Vanessa Bryant is honoring her late husband on Father’s Day.

 

On Sunday, June 16, the mom of four shared a sweet photo on her Instagram as she honored her late husband Kobe Bryant. The NBA legend was pictured next to all four of his daughters, smiling as he held daughter Capri, now 4.

 

Vanessa’s late daughter Gianna smiles next to Kobe, placing a hand on his shoulder. On the other side of the professional athlete, daughters Bianka and Natalia, now 7 and 21, sit together.

 

“Happy Father’s Day to the best daddy @kobebryant. #MostValuableGirlDad ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #GirlDad,” Vanessa wrote in her caption.

 

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Vanessa Bryant and daughters.

 

Vanessa Bryant/Instagram

 

In May, Vanessa announced a pair of “Girl Dad” sneakers in honor of Kobe as part of a new collaboration with Nike.

 

Posting to Instagram, the proud mom shared that the special edition sneakers — which are available just in time for Father’s Day — are olive green in color with black laces and feature the iconic Nike swoosh logo, also in black. The shoes are highlighted with Kobe’s signature on the back, his basketball number 24 and “Girl Dad” written in white script inside the shoe’s tongue.

 

Vanessa captioned one of the posts showcasing the shoes, writing, “For our Most Valuable Girl Dad. This Father’s Day we celebrate Kobe’s commitment and love for our daughters Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri with the Kobe 4 Protro ‘Girl Dad’.”

Vanessa Bryant and three of her daughters.

 

Vanessa Bryant Instagram

 

In another post she wrote, “GIRL DAD 💚🧡💚🧡 Grateful for the passion Kobe had for our daughters and the light he brought to women’s sports.”

 

Earlier this month, Vanessa honored her late daughter, Gigi, who died in the same small plane crash as Kobe in January 2020, by hosting a basketball camp on what would have been her 18th birthday.

 

On Saturday, May 4, Vanessa, 42, shared a post on Instagram, in which she revealed that she and her family hosted a basketball camp for girls and boys.

 

“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 for boys and girls from local LA community organizations,” Vanessa wrote in the caption while sharing photos from her time at the camp.

 

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