For the first time since 2016, the University of Connecticut Lady Huskies won the women’s basketball National Championship with a dominant victory over South Carolina. This year’s team was led by one of the best players in school history in Paige Bueckers, but there were also some thoughts about who wasn’t there in Gianna Bryant, daughter of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Of course, Gianna and Kobe tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in 2020. Gianna was on her way to being a basketball star herself and had dreams of attending UConn with Kobe even taking her to watch them in person. Had tragedy not struck, it is very possible that Gianna would have been a freshman on this Huskies team.
Following the championship win, Bueckers was asked if she had thought about the fact that Gianna could have been on this team and the star guard noted that she has felt a connection to Kobe and his daughter this week, along with others close to her that have passed away recently, via Claire Foley of WACH FOX:
Paige Bueckers was asked if she's thought about that Gigi Bryant could have been on this team. She says that there have been a lot of things this week where she's felt that connection, including her mom staying in room 824.
"God's presence has really been showing out"@UConnWBB pic.twitter.com/8xZ4EqUCgL
— Claire Foley (@clairefoleytv) April 6, 2025
It is amazing and beautiful how things can show themselves. For Bueckers’ mom to be staying room 824 is unbelievable, not to mention the connections to other friends lost and even though it isn’t explainable, you can feel it and Bueckers did.
For many, it hurts to know that Gianna could have been part of this championship team and even Vanessa Bryant congratulated UConn on her Instagram page, adding that Gianna would’ve loved being there with them on that journey, though in some ways she was.
Bueckers still had an amazing end to her four-year journey with the Huskies. She averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals in her UConn career, capping it off with 17 points and six rebounds in the National Championship win.
Steph Curry: Guarding Lakers legend Kobe Bryant forced change in strength training
The impact Kobe Bryant had on many of the all-time greats in basketball is undeniable and Stephen Curry recently revealed that defending the Lakers legend as a rookie forced some changes in his training.
Curry noted that he had to guard Bryant during a preseason game against the Lakers and couldn’t move when Kobe grabbed a hold of his knee. After Bryant knocked down a fadeaway, Curry thought to himself that he needed to add some weight.
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