The legend of late, great Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant continues to live on through those who loved him most. Between his wife Vanessa Bryant and his oldest daughter Natalia Bryant, the legacy of Kobe continues to grow as his impact on this earth was immeasurable.
Kobe was recently honored with a new display at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The handprints and footprints of Kobe will be on permanent exhibition at the forecourt of the museum and his family was on hand for the ceremony with Natalia speaking on his behalf.
And Natalia Bryant would give a beautiful and heartfelt speech to honor her father, speaking on all of the memories she has of him and how he inspired her in her pursuits in life today, via ABC 7:
It is always extremely difficult to speak about those who are no longer here, especially when they were so beloved. It took a lot of strength for Natalia to speak so openly about her father Kobe and reminisce about those moments they shared together and the memories she has.
Natalia called Kobe ‘the MVP of girl dads’ and noted how despite his unbelievably busy schedule he always made time to spend with her and his other children Gianna, Bianka and Capri. She is also currently studying film at USC and spoke on how Kobe inspired her to do so, remembering all of their time together watching movie series such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Kobe was the first athlete to ever be honored with his hand and footprints in the cement at the theatre back in 2011 and this ceremony marked the fixing of those prints as a permanent display in the forecourt. In addition to the rest of the Bryant family, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and former Lakers player and coach Byron Scott.
Lakers legend Pau Gasol discusses how Kobe Bryant inspired him as a player
One of Kobe Bryant’s best friends was his former teammate Pau Gasol. The two grew close during their time together with the Lakers winning two championships and Gasol was recently honored by having his number 16 jersey retired and it now hangs in the rafters next to the 24 of the man he calls his brother.
Gasol would later reflect on Kobe and how the legend inspired him as a basketball player. “He definitely inspired me and showed me what it took to be the best player that you could be,” Gasol said following his jersey retirement ceremony. “The work ethic, the dedication, the mindset going into it. He challenged me to be better. With his actions, with his work, but also he was very intentional with his actions, and I was in, I was all the way in.
“So I would go as far as he would want me to go and I wanted to win and it was some very special times, very special years. He really elevated me, I think as he did with most of the players that we had, I think all of us. When you’re around a player or person of that caliber that demands excellence of himself and everybody else I think that’s something that you wanna be around.”
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