Tag: Gianna Bryant

Vanessa Bryant and family were among those out to support USC women’s basketball in March Madness

The Bryants were out to support JuJu Watkins and USC women’s basketball on Saturday.

During the USC women’s basketball team’s opening-round NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sensational Trojans guard JuJu Watkins and her teammates had quite the cheering section.

Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, attended Saturday’s game with her family to root for Watkins and the Trojans, an awesome gesture that shows the connection between the L.A.-based school and the Bryants.

In the past, Watkins has talked about the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s influence on her USC playing days and the way she approaches basketball. So it’s great to see the Bryant family supporting her and her team in one of the big games of their careers.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the likely top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller were also in attendance for the day’s game.

This is just a really cool thing to see, as it’s clear the love in basketball family in Los Angeles can spread levels of play and different programs.

We’re sure that Watkins and USC deeply appreciate the support from the Bryants as they try to bring a national title back to the City of Angels.

Featured image courtesy of ESPN.

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Klay Thompson had a touching answer about Kobe, Gigi Bryant before Warriors head to L.A.

Klay: ‘I’m just going to play my hardest to honor him and Gigi.’

Warriors star Klay Thompson waited over a decade for this matchup.

Now, after splitting the first two games of the series 1-1 at home in Golden State, the Warriors will head on the road to Los Angeles. These games are especially meaningful for Klay, whose father Mychal Thompson won two titles for the Lakers.

Klay was born in Los Angeles and he later went to high school in Southern California. Mychal has previously tweeted photos of Klay wearing Lakers gear as a young child.

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During a postgame interview on Thursday, the Warriors star said that he is going to play especially hard in Los Angeles “to honor” the late Kobe and Gigi Bryant.

Here is what Thompson said:

“I’m a huge Kobe [Bryant] fan. He was my biggest inspiration. I’m just going to play my hardest to honor him and Gigi cause without his play and me viewing his tenacity on the court, I would not be the athlete I am today.”

Klay had an incredibly sweet message for Bryant’s family after he won an ESPY in 2022.

Klay’s father, Mychal, recently said that Kobe was like a mentor for Klay (via The Sporting Tribune)

“The Lakers were his team as a kid. Kobe [Bryant] was his guy. For him to be able to play against the Lakers and play in LA and Crypto.com Arena, it has been most meaningful to him because of his affection for the Lakers’ franchise and for Kobe. Anytime school permitted, I would get him and my other two sons up here to Lakers games so they can appreciate the greatness of Kobe and Shaq. That was their era when they were growing up with Derek Fisher, Rick Fox and that whole crew. They saw what winners and what champions were like. They saw what it was like to play for the best franchise in basketball. They got to meet the guys. They were very nice to them and very accommodating. Shaq and Kobe were always that way. They were great mentors for kids. It wasn’t just for my kids, but for every kid.”

Klay worked out with Kobe when he was in high school and had his first NBA matchup against Bryant in 2012.

The Warriors will play Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals in Los Angeles at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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Nick DePaula: Vanessa Bryant’s Mamba & …

Nick DePaula: Vanessa Bryant’s Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation and @NancyLieberman’s @NLCharities donated 2 full courts in Philly today — honoring Kobe & Gigi’s legacy with a safe space for kids to play. pic.twitter.com/f7ujmVfk2N

Arash Markazi: Nike is releasing the …

Arash Markazi: Nike is releasing the Kobe 6 Protro ‘Mambacita Sweet 16’ today in honor of Gianna Bryant’s 16th birthday. Profits from the sale of the Kobe 6 Protro ‘Mambacita Sweet 16’ will be donated to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. pic.twitter.com/OvnLGMbYil

Arash Markazi: On what would have been …

Arash Markazi: On what would have been Gianna Bryant’s 16th birthday, Nike took out a full page ad for this beautiful “Dear Gianna” letter. pic.twitter.com/Uth1B6a3Qo

“I am happy to announce that we will …

“I am happy to announce that we will continue my husband’s legacy with Nike and look forward to expanding his and Gigi’s global impact by sharing the Mamba Mentality with youth athletes for generations to come,” says Vanessa Bryant. As part of the new partnership, Vanessa and Nike will work together to establish a youth basketball court in Southern California and Nike and the Bryant family will continue to outfit the NBA and WNBA athletes who carry the legacy of the Mamba Mentality.

Kobe is Klay’s basketball idol, and on …

Recordaron a Kobe y Gianna Bryant con estatua en el lugar de su muerte

La base de la escultura tiene escrito los nombres de los fallecidos a manera de homenaje y fue colocada de manera efímera en Calabasas

Ya pasaron dos años desde el fatídico accidente aéreo en el Kobe Bryant, su hija Gianna y siete personas más murieron al desplomarse el helicóptero en el que viajaban.

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Muchos homenajes se han dado para el popular ex basquetbolista desde su muerte, y a dos años del lamentable hecho, el escultor Dan Medina creó una obra en bronce del basquetbolista con su hija Gianna ambos con camisetas de los Lakers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZMtp5CpQUJ/

La obra fue colocada de manera efímera en el condado de Calabasas en California, en el área de Los Angeles en el lugar preciso donde se encontraron los restos de la aeronave que transportaba a los fallecidos.

La base de la escultura tiene escrito los nombres de los fallecidos a manera de homenaje, y aunque la obra se colocó solo por el día miércoles 26 de enero en el lugar del accidente, el escultor espera que se pueda hacer una obra permanente en otro momento.