Video Of Kobe Bryant Talking About His Daughter's Love Of Basketball Resurfaces
Kobe Bryant has opened up a lot in the past about his daughter, Gianna, and her love of the game
As the world continues to mourn the loss of basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, people are looking for ways to connect with his family and remember his legacy. There are dozens of videos and social media posts from Bryant on his love of family and the special bond he had with Gianna, who was following in his basketball footsteps.
Bryant and Gianna were two of nine killed yesterday when his private helicopter went down over Calabasas, California while on their way to a travel basketball game. Just this September, Kobe appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and talked about being a dad of four daughters, saying he couldn’t be more content to have all girls.
“I love having girls,” he told Kimmel. “Like, I love it. They’re awesome.” He talked about the fact that people are always telling him he and wife Vanessa should try for a boy to carry on his tradition but that his wife actually wants a boy more than he does.
One clip in particular from his interview with Kimmel stood out. He told the host that Gigi had big plans to carry on the Bryant family basketball legacy. “The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me, and it’ll be like, ‘And you gotta have a boy. You and V gotta have a boy, have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy,'” he said. “She’s like, ‘I got this. No boy for that, I got this.'” Kobe proudly added, “That’s right. Yes, you do, you got this.”
His Instagram account is full of photos of Gigi playing ball.
He also spoke to ET in December 2018, telling the outlet that Gianna has always had a love of the game. “Yeah, she’s pretty fierce… She came to me last summer and asked if I would teach her the game a little bit, so she just started playing,” he said. “Natalia’s a great volleyball player and Gianna’s great at basketball, great at soccer.”
Bryant was happy to be coaching his daughter, adding, “It’s been fun! We’ve been working together for a year and a half and they’ve improved tremendously in that time. I’ve got a group of great parents, a group of really, really intelligent, hardworking girls, and — they’re all seventh graders, they’re all 12 years old — but they’ve been playing so well!”
He also admitted to loving the extra daddy-daughter time with Gianna while they played. “Gianna’s pretty easy to coach,” he shared. “We haven’t had any issues of dad-daughter sort of thing. She’s very competitive and she’s a hard worker, so there haven’t been any issues with that.”
It’s clear they had a special bond and shared love of the game — memories their friends and family will be able to cherish and remember for the rest of their lives.
