Vanessa Bryant Shares Touching Tribute to Daughter Gianna Hours Before Public Memorial

Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram to share a photo of Sydney Leroux Dwyer's new tattoo. "Thank you for honoring my Gigi. I love you @sydneyleroux," she captioned the post.

By Elyse Dupre Feb 24, 2020 1:08 PMTags
Watch: Kobe Bryant & Daughter Gianna Have Been Laid to Rest

Sydney Leroux Dwyer is paying tribute to Gianna Bryant.

The 29-year-old soccer star got a tattoo of the late teen's jersey number—number two. The numeral also happens to be Sydney's jersey number. 

"#2 [heart], Leroux," Vanessa Bryant, Gianna's mother, wrote on Instagram along with a photo of the ink. "Thank you for honoring my Gigi. I love you @sydneyleroux."

Gianna and her father, Kobe Bryant, died in a helicopter crash in January. They were 13 and 41 years old, respectively.

Seven others were killed in the tragic accident, as well: John Altobelli, a baseball coach  at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa; his wife, Keri Altobelli; their daughter, Alyssa AltobelliChristina Mauser, an assistant basketball coach at Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy; Payton Chester, who played on the team; her mother, Sarah Chester; and Ara Zobayan, the pilot.

Kobe and Gianna were laid to rest earlier this month. A public Celebration of Life service was held at the Los Angeles Staples Center on Monday, February 24.

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Kobe Bryant's Family Album

The date of the memorial held special significance to the Bryant family. As previously noted, two was the number on Gianna's basketball jersey and 24 was the number on Kobe's. The number 20 represented the number of years Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the number of years he was with his wife Vanessa.

All of the proceeds from the Celebration of Life ticket sales were donated to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. According to the website, the organization "exists to further Kobe and Gianna Bryant's legacy through charitable endeavors in sports."

For more information or to donate, please click here.

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