Kobe Bryant played his final NBA game four years ago on April 13, 2016. It was the kind of ending that served as a fitting conclusion to Kobe’s legendary career.
The “Mamba out” sign-off after the 60-point finale motivated the Lakers and Nike to recognize April 13 as “Mamba Day.”
But following Kobe’s tragic death in a January helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of his daughter, Gianna, and seven others, Mamba Day 2020 had an entirely different significance for Vanessa Bryant and her family.
It was another day of mourning and reflection.
Vanessa took to Instagram on Monday to recognize Mamba Day while also reflecting on Kobe’s retirement — he left the game to spend time with his family. Vanessa added that she wished she could go back to Jan. 26 everyday and change what happened.
She wrote:
Mamba Day
My husband worked his ass off for 20 years. Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time. He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives. He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement. We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time. She worked hard and gave her all 7 days a week just like her daddy. I wish I could back to that morning, every day. I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless.
