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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Molly Pike

Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa pays tribute to icon and their daughter two months after tragedy

Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa has paid a touching tribute to the icon and their daughter Gianna two months after their tragic deaths.

Vanessa took to her Instagram account on Thursday to share a heartbreaking video of Kobe talking about coaching Gianna.

Gianna, and Kobe lost their lives in a helicopter crash in January, exactly two months before Vanessa posted the tribute.

The 13-year-old was an aspiring basketball player and Kobe, who played for the Lakers, coached her Amateur Athletic Union team.

In the video shared by Vanessa, Kobe said: "She started out playing soccer, which is one of my favorite sports as well.

Vanessa has paid tribute to her late husband Kobe Bryant and their daugther Gianna (WireImage)

"But then, when she asked about learning the game of basketball, I started teaching her piece by piece, and she started enjoying it and loving it and now she plays every day.

"It's been a joy to watch her grow and to be there every day for that process.

"Her temperament is a lot like mine. She’s extremely competitive, very fiery, and backs down from no challenge."

In the clip Kobe says Gianna is "a good mix of me and good mix of her mama, so that makes her even more competitive than I am."

Vanessa captioned the post with two broken heart emojis.

It comes after she spoke at Kobe and Gianna's memorial last month.

Speaking about Kobe, Vanessa said: "He was mine. He was my everything. Kobe and I had been together since I was 17 years old.

"I was his first girlfriend, his first love, his wife, his best friend, his confidante and his protector. He was the most amazing husband. Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words."

Vanessa also paid honour to Gianna and revealed what she has been missing.

She said: "I miss her sweet kisses, her cleverness, her sarcasm, her wit and that adorable sly side smile followed with a grin and burst of laughter.

"Gigi was sunshine. She brightened up my day every day. I miss looking at her beautiful face. She was always so good, a rule follower. I knew I could always count on her to do the right thing."

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