Vanessa Bryant Brings Kids to Kobe Bryant Hall of Fame Exhibit
Vanessa Bryant spent the day remembering her late husband, Kobe Bryant, at a special exhibit with her children on Friday, May 14.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has created an exhibit honoring the late athlete in Springfield, Massachusetts. Vanessa, 39, showed her children visiting the exhibit — which features Kobe’s Lakers jerseys, shoes and more — in a series of Instagram posts.
The NBA legend died in January 2020 alongside daughter Gianna and seven other passengers in a helicopter crash. They are survived by Vanessa and the couple’s other daughters, Natalia, 18, Bianka, 4, and Capri, 22 months.
In one photo shared on Friday, Bianka poses in front of his jerseys and Capri smiles in front of a portrait of her father. A clip shows them holding hands as they watch an animated video where Kobe can be heard saying, “Love you always, Kobe.”
At the Hall of Fame awards tip off ceremony, Vanessa presented Kobe’s award to their daughter Natalia on stage. The moment will be televised on ESPN on Saturday, May 15, at 8 p.m. ET.
“Kobe is honored to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,” Vanessa said in a statement before the ceremony. “I look forward to celebrating Kobe’s legacy. … On behalf of our family, we appreciate the continuous love and support from fans all over the world.”
Vanessa added her input to the exhibit. “The family had time to think about what they wanted to do,” John Doleva, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame CEO, said at a press conference on Friday. “[It’s] about Kobe’s accomplishments but also about what Kobe was after he left the Lakers, after he left basketball.”
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For her part, the model has continuously tried to honor both Kobe and Gianna since their deaths. Prior to the Hall of Fame ceremony, Vanessa launched a fundraiser for what would have been Gianna’s 15th birthday on May 1. Dannijo, a female-owned clothing business, teamed up with Gigi’s mom to design a capsule collection of tie-dye sweatsuits with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Bryant family’s nonprofit.
“What Gigi would love most about the Collection is that 100% of the proceeds will support the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which is dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and young women in sports,” Vanessa wrote at the time. “Gigi was especially motivated to change the way everyone viewed women in sports, and it’s fitting that this capsule represents her values.”
Scroll through to see Vanessa and her family’s trip to the Hall of Fame exhibit.
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