Gianna Bryant's Jersey No. 2 retired by school; Vanessa remembers daughter in Instagram post

Vanessa Bryant posted a tribute for her late husband Kobe Bryant, saying she misses her best friend

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant, posted a heartfelt tribute for her 13-year-old daughter Gianna as her jersey No. 2 was retired during a ceremony by the Harbor Day School in Corona Del.

Gianna, daughter of Kobe Bryant and Vanessa died in a chopper crash that claimed the lives of nine others including her father Kobe. The NBA legend and Gianna alongwith seven others were flying to Thousand Oaks in a helicopter to participate in the Youth Basketball Tournament, when their chopper crashed in the rugged terrain of Calabasas, last month.

Vanessa expresses her love for 'Gigi'

Gianna Bryant
Gianna Bryant Instagram/Vanessa Bryant

In a post on Wednesday, a heart-broken Vanessa poured her love for Gianna in a tribute posted on her Instagram page. In the post accompanied with a picture from the memorial ceremony, she wrote: "My Gianna, God I miss you. I've been so lucky to have woken up to see your gorgeous face and amazing smile for 13 years. Wish it would've been until my last breath. Mommy loves you to the moon and back. Infinity plus 1. #2 #Mambacita #GigiBryant "

The mother of four went on to post videos and pictures from the memorial organised in the gymnasium of the school. In her latest post, which showed the framed jersey No 2, worn by Gianna, Vanessa wrote: "My Gigi. I love you! I miss you. You've taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will ALWAYS be so proud of you mamacita"

Joshua Parks, Harbor Day School coach, described Gianna in his tribute as the heart and soul of this team."Her competitive soul was infectious," he was heard saying in the video.

In one of the previous posts, Vanessa had shared a picture of the jersey No 2 and 24, with a caption: "There is no #24 without #2. ❤️#GirlDaddy #DaddysGirl #MyBabies ❤️❤️ #OurAngels #KobeandGigi"

Vanessa misses her 'best friend'

Revealing the strong bond shared with her husband Kobe Bryant, Vanessa shared a smiling photo of the legendary basketball player calling Kobe, her 'best friend' and 'best daddy'. She wrote: "#mybestfriend #theBestdaddy Miss you so much. #handsome #sweet #funny #silly #lovinghusband. Miss you saying, 'Bonjourno principessa/reina.'"

She also shared a clip of an interview in which Kobe spoke about his first job and childhood fears. He also went on to discuss his relationship with his daughters and that his wife was his best friend. Paying tributes to the departed souls, NBA said that team LeBron would be donning Gianna's No 2 jersey while Team Giannis would be wearing Kobe's No 24 jersey during the All-Star Game.

View this post on Instagram

My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri. We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately. There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon. I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way. Our love for them is endless — and that’s to say, immeasurable. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and bless them. Have them here with us, forever. Thank you for sharing your joy, your grief and your support with us. We ask that you grant us the respect and privacy we will need to navigate this new reality. To honor our Team Mamba family, the Mamba Sports Foundation has set up the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by this tragedy. To donate, please go to MambaOnThree.org. To further Kobe and Gianna’s legacy in youth sports, please visit MambaSportsFoundation.org. Thank you so much for lifting us up in your prayers, and for loving Kobe, Gigi, Natalia, Bianka, Capri and me. #Mamba #Mambacita #GirlsDad #DaddysGirls #Family ❤️

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