![]() ![]() Main article: 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash You got this."īryant wore the number 2 to honor United States women's national soccer player Sydney Leroux. I'm telling you, 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 they will be like, 'You gotta have a boy, you and V gotta have a boy, man, to have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy.' And is like, 'I got this!'" Bryant said. Kobe would talk about Gianna saying how she was female version of him. She played on the competitive team with the club at the U-10 through U-15 levels.īryant had a very close relationship with her father Kobe as she was usually always by her father's side. He would take her to his games where she would often shoot around with the team in warm-ups.īryant's inspiration to play in the WNBA came after playing attending Los Angeles Sparks game during a school trip in fourth grade, when she declared, "I will play in the WNBA, I promise." Bryant played basketball for the Mamba Sports Academy, where she was coached by her father until their tragic death. She was also the granddaughter of former NBA player Joe Bryant and great-niece of former basketball player John "Chubby" Cox.Her father, Kobe, was the reason she started playing basketball. ![]() Her mother is Mexican and her father is African-American. All rights reserved.Born in Los Angeles, California to Vanessa and Kobe Bryant, Gianna was raised with her older sister Natalia and two younger sisters, Bianka and Capri. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information / Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. ^ Back to Top ^ © 2023 ESPN Internet Ventures. Other reports have said Bryant and his team had told the Nets he would choose to play overseas if the franchise had decided to pick him. "High school kid, he was 17 years old."Ĭalipari said the response he got from the organization was that "you don't know what you're doing" because he was so new to the NBA. "Everybody thought I was nuts," Calipari said on his radio show three years ago after Kobe's and Gigi's death. The Nets fired Calipari in the strike-shortened 1999 NBA season following a 3-17 start. ![]() Calipari said Kobe would later joke with him that he'd "still be in the NBA" if the Nets had selected him. ![]() Calipari said he'd pushed for the team to pick Kobe, but he couldn't get the other power brokers within the franchise to back him. The Nets, who had the eighth pick in 1996, selected former Villanova star Kerry Kittles in that draft and Bryant went to the Los Angeles Lakers at 13. At the time, Calipari was a first-year head coach with the New Jersey Nets and Kobe was a promising high school star. Last year, Calipari and Kentucky men's basketball partnered with the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation to create a skills camp for underserved youth in Kentucky. Kobe and Calipari are forever linked because of the 1996 NBA draft. For Gigi's birthday, to do all this, 17th birthday, you know my heart goes out to both of you at this time. I can't wait to see you guys," Calipari said in the video. The package, via the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, included a plaque commemorating Gigi's birthday, a program from her and her father's memorial service that was held at the Staples Center, a pair of shoes and other gifts for the longtime coach. Gigi and Kobe Bryant both died in a helicopter crash along with seven others in 2020. In a video he posted on Twitter, Calipari said he will frame Gigi's jersey and hang it in his office. John Calipari thanked Vanessa Bryant and her daughter, Natalia, after the family sent the Kentucky coach a package to honor Gigi Bryant on what would have been her 17th birthday Monday. Men's College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬalipari thanks Kobe Bryant's family for package to honor Gigi ![]()
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