Remembering Kobe and Gianna Bryant on the 5th Anniversary of Their Deaths

Mar. 15, 2025

Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant attends the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks on December 29, 2019.Photo:Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty

The sports and entertainment worlds are remembering and celebrating the lives ofKobe and Gianna Bryanton the fifth anniversary of their tragic deaths.

Five years after Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna died in ahelicopter crashon Jan. 26, 2020 in California, the beloved basketball star and his daughter continue to inspire fans all over the world.

Jerry West and Kobe Bryant after he’s drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers.Steve Grayson/WireImage

In Los Angeles, he’d team up with centerShaquille O’Neal. While Kobe and O’Neal would certainly have success (they won four championships for the Lakers together), their relationshipwould soon turn into a rivalry.

An 18-time All-Star, Kobe helped lead the Lakers to five NBA titles: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010.

Kobe Bryant.Stacy Revere/Getty

Stacy Revere/Getty

In 1999, a 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-oldVanessa Laine.when he was a starting player on the Los Angeles Lakers — while Vanessa was a high school senior from southern California.

“It was love at first sight,” Vanessa said in a 2020 Instagram post.

“For me, it was very different to have somebody that I was so close to, because I had been so used to growing up in isolation, really,”Kobe said about the early days of their relationshipin the 2015 Showtime documentaryKobe Bryant’s Muse.

The two became engaged six months later and married on April 18, 2001, in Dana Point, California.

Vanessa and Kobe Bryant at a game between the Los Angeles King and Washington Capitals on March 09, 2016.Andrew D. Bernstein/NHLI via Gett

Andrew D. Bernstein/NHLI via Gett

Vanessa and Kobewelcomed their third child— daughter Bianka Bella — on Dec. 5, 2016 and theiryoungest, Capri Kobe, was bornon June 20, 2019.

From a young age, Gianna — who waslovingly known as Gigi— wanted to follow her dad’s footsteps into basketball. Kobe even coached his daughter’s team at his Mamba Sports Academy and supported her dreams of joining the WNBA.

“[Gianna]’s pretty fierce. She loves playing, she loves shooting,” the basketball legend toldExtrain July 2017.

Vanessa Laine Bryant, former NBA player Kobe Bryant, Natalia Diamante Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Gianna and her father continued to share a love of the game and his mini-me was quickly on her way to carving out her own path in basketball.

At the time of the fatal crash, Gianna and Kobe were traveling to a youth basketball game with parents and players from the Mamba Sports Academy girls’ team, where Gianna wore a No. 2 jersey.

In 2020, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert named Gianna — as well as her teammates Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli who also died in the crash — an honorary pick during the 2020 WNBA Draft.

Athletes likeLeBron James,Candace ParkerandSydney Lerouxhave paid tribute to Gianna’s life and legacy.

Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant attend the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks on December 29, 2019.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty

In the days leading up to the fifth anniversary of the accident, PEOPLE announced that Vanessa is set to publishMamba & Mambacita Forever, a catalogue of over 100 murals and the stories that honor Kobe and Gianna’s lasting impact.

Avariety of memorialswent up all over the world, including candlelit vigils, sculptures and public murals, recognizing Kobe and Gianna’s contributions to the world of basketball.

Mamba & Mambacita Forever— which will be released on Aug. 19 to mark Kobe Bryant Day several days later — “brings together the images and stories” of the public art installations that honored the Byrants, per a press release shared with PEOPLE.

“Taken together, what emerges is the story of a man who became even more than he himself could have imagined, an avatar of determination, discipline and competitiveness. He was also a worldwide icon, one of the greatest athletes of our time, a man committed to his family and to fatherhood,” the release continues.

source: people.com