Vanessa Bryant’s grief was overwhelming as she took the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to pay tribute to her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter, Gianna Bryant on Monday. As a mother, Vanessa reflected in her speech about the incredible love she had for her 13-year-old daughter, the bond that Gianna shared with her dad and her sisters, and the moments that they got to share together throughout her life, which was so tragically cut short.
But the moment that brought Vanessa to tears was as she reflected on the moments she would not get to share with her daughter, Gianna. The moments that were yet to come, the future she was yet to have, the memories she was yet to make.
“We will not be able to see Gigi go to high school with Natalia and ask her how her day went. We did not get a chance to teach her how to drive a car,” Vanessa began, before moving onto the monumental life events she would not get to have.
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View Gallery“I won’t be able to tell her how gorgeous she looks on her wedding day. I will never get to see my baby girl walk down the aisle, have a father-daughter dance with her daddy, and dance on the dance floor we me or have babies on her own,” Vanessa shared.
“Gianna would have been an amazing mommy. She was very maternal ever since she was very little.”
Vanessa then opened up about the athletic endeavors she was yet to achieve.
“Gigi most likely would have become the best player in the WNBA. She would have made a huge difference. She would have made a huge difference for women’s basketball. She wrote papers in school defending women and wrote about how the unequal pay difference for the NBA and WNBA leagues was not fair. They knew her goal was to play in the WNBA, and I am still so proud of Gianna, and she was kind to everybody she met for the 13 years she was here on Earth. Her classmates shared many fond stories with us, and those stories reminded us that no act is too small to make a difference.”
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Vanessa stayed strong throughout her speech, sharing memories of her daughter, before moving onto the love she shared with. Kobe. The pair were married for nearly 20 years.
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