Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute to Gianna and Kobe Bryant After Lakers Win NBA Championship

After the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship, Vanessa Bryant took to social media to congratulate the team. Scroll on to read her tribute to husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna.

By Jess Cohen Oct 12, 2020 10:57 AMTags
Watch: Vanessa Bryant Honors Kobe On What Would've Been His 42nd Birthday

Vanessa Bryant is sending love to her Lakers family after their win at the 2020 NBA Finals.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to take home the championship title. After the team's victory, Vanessa took to social media to congratulate the Lakers while also honoring Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant.

In a post on her Instagram Story, Vanessa shared a picture of her late husband alongside Rob Pelinka, the general manager of the Lakers. "Congratulations Uncle P! Congratulations @lakers," Vanessa captioned the photo. "Kobe was right, RP! 'Stay the course- blockout the noise.'"

She added, "Wish Kobe and Gigi were here to see this."

Vanessa also shared a heartfelt tribute to Kobe and Gianna, who passed away in a helicopter crash in January, in honor of National Father-Daughter Day. Alongside a photo of Kobe and Gianna at the 2009 NBA Championship, Vanessa wrote, "#GirlDad #DaddysGirl #Mamba #Mambacita #2 #8 #24 Congratulations @Lakers."

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NBA Stars Honor Kobe Bryant on Mamba Day

After their win on Sunday, Lakers star Anthony Davis dedicated their victory to Kobe. "Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do is do it for him and we didn't let him down," Davis shared during a post-game interview. "It would have been great to do it last game in his jerseys, but it made us come down even more aggressive, even more powerful on both ends of the floor, to make sure we close it down tonight. I know he's looking down on us proud of us. I know Vanessa is proud of us, the organization's proud of us. It means a lot to us."

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LeBron James also reflected on Kobe's death in a post-game interview, sharing that his passing brought the Lakers "even closer together."

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

"And obviously we know it brought the whole basketball world close as well," he shared. "But when you're internal and it hits home, it just means that much more. We locked in from that very moment, saying, 'This is bigger than us, this is bigger than us.'"