Vanessa Bryant Celebrates Gianna As Honorary WNBA Draft Pick: I Wish I Could Hold You & Tell You How Proud Of You I Am!

Vanessa Bryant & daughter Gigi Bryant

Vanessa Bryant Celebrates Gianna As Honorary WNBA Draft Pick: I Wish I Could Hold You & Tell You How Proud Of You I Am!

2020 has been a rough year so far and nobody knows this feeling more than Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. On January 26, Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna Bryant, 13, lost their lives in a horrific helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Since the tragedy, there’s been an outpouring of love, support, and prayers for Vanessa Bryant and her three surviving daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 9 months. There has also been a lot of love and support towards the other 7 victims of the crash which includes the Altobelli and Chester families.

Along with love and support, there has been a huge effort to make sure that the victims are remembered for all of the amazing things they’ve accomplished prior to the accident. Gianna Bryant’s jersey was retired at her school, Vanessa Bryant gave a powerful speech at a memorial dedicated to her husband Kobe Bryant and the crash victims at the Staples Center in February, and it was announced earlier this month that Kobe Bryant is going to be inducted into the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame.

The honors don’t stop there. In a recent post to her Instagram followers, Vanessa Bryant revealed that her late daughter along with her teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Peyton Chester will be honorary draft picks in the 2020 WNBA Draft on April 17th. Vanessa captioned the post saying,

“Honorary Draft Picks:??Gianna Bryant?? #mambacita ?? Alyssa Altobelli and Peyton Chester?? class of 2024”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Fj-hHj6R5/

See more memories and moments of Gianna Bryant’s big moment below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Gc2kxDqNV/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_GhkgvD3dq/

The league also unveiled a new award in honor of Gianna Bryant & Kobe Bryant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_HRI9ujY-0/

Congrats to Gianna Bryant aka Mambacita and her teammates Alyssa Altobelli and Peyton Chester. The mamba legacy continues.