Remembering Gianna Bryant a year after the accident

It's been a year since basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year old daughter Gianna died in a helicopter accident. Sports fans all over the world have remembered the talented father and daughter. (This mural stands in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy.)

Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant was born on May 1, 2006. Affectionately called Gigi, she was the second of Kobe Bryant's four daughters. She died in the same helicopter crash as the NBA star on January 26, 2020.

Gianna and Kobe were very close. They were two of a kind. It was common to see father and daughter watching the Los Angeles Lakers games together at the Staples Center. Gianna also celebrated titles with her father when she was still a little girl.

They shared a passion for basketball. In addition to going to the Staples Center on a regular basis, the young Gigi watched every game on television if she couldn't see it live. In the podcast 'All the Smoke,' she adds: "And when I say all of them, I mean all of them."

Gianna Bryant was very competitive. So much so that, as Kobe recalled in an interview with The New Yorker in 2014, Gigi lost her mind when she lost to Kobe in a board game at age 3. That's where Kobe realized. "Wow, the girl's like me", he said.

Gianna Bryant was a player at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, founded by Kobe Bryant himself in 2018. She was also coached by him. The 13-year-old believed that her future lay in professional basketball, and her father prided himself on knowing that his basketball legacy would continue.

Kobe was close with his daughters. His family life often prevented him from attending the Lakers' games. In the LA Times, he was clear about his preferences: "It's not that I don't want to go to the Lakers, it's just that I'd rather bathe the baby and sing songs to her. I'd rather be with them than do anything else."

As the daughter of the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant's nickname, Gianna was often called the Mambacita.

When fans said Kobe should have a son to follow his legacy, his daughter Gianna would intervene: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'm not a boy, but I'll take care of it."

Kobe Bryant was so proud of his daughter that he regularly shared photos of her training or playing matches.

Kobe Bryant was convinced his daughter had the talent to play basketball in the WNBA. He told Jimmy Kimmel: "I'm sure she will. This girl is amazing."

The young woman inherited her father's capacity for work and sacrifice. "She makes me train with her every night," Kobe revealed on the 'All the Smoke' podcast.

As Kobe Bryant said in the Los Angeles Times: "it's amazing to see some of the moves she makes... to see how genetics works."

Bryant's sports genetics also impacted Natalia, Gianna's older sister. She is making a name for herself in the volleyball world.

One indication of Kobe Bryant's conviction that his daughter would succeed, TMZ reports, is that he allegedly registered the brand 'Mambacita' two weeks before the accident. Sadly, Gianna and her father would never be able to develop her brand and legacy.