Remembering Kobe and Gianna Bryant on the 5th anniversary of their deaths

• Kobe and Gianna Bryant were killed on January 26, 2020
• Their lives and legacies continue to influence sports five years later
• Earlier this week, Vanessa Bryant announced the upcoming release of a catalog of over 100 murals and the stories honoring Kobe and Gianna’s lasting influence

The sports and entertainment worlds are remembering and celebrating the lives of Kobe and Gianna Bryant on the fifth anniversary of their tragic deaths.

Five years after Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 in California, the beloved basketball star and his daughter continue to inspire fans around the world.

Survived by his wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri, Kobe’s contribution to basketball is immeasurable. In addition to the five NBA championships he won for the Los Angeles Lakers, the greatest athletes in all sports continue to live by his “Mamba mentality” mindset.

Kobe’s basketball career began at Lower Merion High School. He decided to enter the NBA right out of 12th grade and was the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded his draft rights to the Los Angeles Lakers in an earlier deal.

In Los Angeles, he was with Center Shaquille O’Neal. While Kobe and O’Neal would certainly be successful (they won four championships for the Lakers together), their relationship would soon turn into a rivalry.

At just 18 years, 2 months and 11 days old, he became the youngest person to ever play in an NBA game when he played in 1996. And in 1998, he was the youngest starter ever in an NBA All-Star Game.

An 18-time All-Star, Kobe helped lead the Lakers to five NBA titles: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2010.

In 1999, a 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-old Vanessa Laine. When he was a starter on the Los Angeles Lakers — while Vanessa was a senior in high school from Southern California.

“It was love at first sight,” Vanessa said in a 2020 Instagram post.

“For me, it was very different to have someone that I was so close to because I was so used to growing up isolated,” Kobe said of the early days of their relationship in the 2015 Showtime documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse.

The two became engaged six months later and married on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point, California.

In 2003, they welcomed their first child, daughter Natalia, followed by Gianna in 2006.

Vanessa and Kobe welcomed their third child – daughter Bianka Bella – on December 5, 2016, and their youngest, Capri Kobe, was born on June 20, 2019.

“She’s been our best baby,” he joked Additional about their youngest in September 2019. “She sleeps like six hours. She is an absolute sweetheart. ”

From a young age, Gianna – who became affectionately known as Gigi – wanted to follow her father’s footsteps into basketball. Kobe even coached his daughter’s team at his Mamba Sports Academy and supported her dreams of joining the WNBA.

“(Gianna) is pretty tough. She loves to play, she loves to shoot,” the basketball legend added Additional In July 2017.

Gianna and her father continued to share a love for the game, and his mini-me was quickly on her way to carving her own path in basketball.

At the time of the fatal crash, Gianna and Kobe were traveling to a youth basketball game with parents and players from the Mamba Sports Academy Girls’ Team, where Gianna was wearing a No. 2 jersey.

In 2020, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert named Gianna—as well as her teammates Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli, who also died in the crash—an honorable mention pick during the 2020 WNBA draft.

Athletes such as LeBron James, Candace Parker and Sydney Leroux have paid tribute to Gianna’s life and legacy.

Kobe and Gianna were laid to rest on February 7, 2020 at Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary in Corona del Mar, California. A moving public memorial service was held on February 24, 2020 at the Staples Center, attended by famous friends such as Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, Christina Aguilera, Shaquille O’Neal and more.

In the days leading up to the fifth anniversary of the accident, People announced that Vanessa is ready to go public Mamba & Mambacita forevera catalog of over 100 murals and the stories honoring Kobe and Gianna’s lasting impact.

A series of memorials went up around the world, including guards, sculptures and public murals, recognizing Kobe and Gianna’s contributions to the world of basketball.

Mamba & Mambacita forever — which will be released on Aug. 19 to mark Kobe Bryant Day several days later — “brings together the images and stories” from the public art installations that honored Byrant, per Press release shared with people.

“Overall, what emerges is the story of a man who became even more than he himself could have imagined, an avatar of determination, discipline and competitiveness. He was also a worldwide icon, one of the greatest athletes of our time, a man committed to his family and to fatherhood,” the release continues.