Vanessa Bryant, 44, celebrated what would have been her late husband Kobe Bryant‘s 48th birthday with an adorable throwback photo and a heartfelt message on Instagram.
She chose a cute snap of herself lounging in a lawn chair as the basketball titan playfully sits on her lap, and added the simple caption, “Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much.” She added a heart and praying hands before writing the date of Kobe’s birthday, 8/23.
Michael Phelps & More Celebrities Flood Vanessa Bryant With Love on Kobe’s Birthday
Vanessa’s post received lots of love from a wide array of notable athletes and other entertainment figures. Here are some of their reactions:
Many left heart emojis including David Beckham, Kelly Rowland, Kobe and Vanessa’s daughter Natalia, Kris Jenner, Gabrielle Union, and Michael Phelps.
Phelps was Kobe’s Team USA teammate in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. 2008 marked Kobe’s first Olympic gold medal as part of the “Redeem Team” after the USA basketball team took the bronze, while Phelps raked in a historic haul of 8 gold swimming medals that year.
Meanwhile Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who announced his NFL retirement in June, commented, “Love this,” as did Lala Anthony.
Tina Knowles, the mother of Beyonce and Solange, wrote “Sending you love and hugs your beautiful man’s birthday♥️🙏🏽,” while Kimora Lee Simmons chimed in to say, “❤️❤️❤️ so much love to you all.”
Kobe died along with the couple’s 13-year-old Gigi in a January 26, 2020 helicopter crash on the way to coach the teenage athlete at a basketball tournament. He left behind three more daughter – 23-year-old Natalia, 9-year-old Bianka, and 7-year-old Capri.
Three days after the tragedy, Vanessa broke her silence in an Instagram statement saying she was “completely devastated” and thanking fans for their prayers.
She also shared her condolences for the families of the crash’s 7 other victims, who included the pilot and other coaches and teammates, before saying, “I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever.”
David Beckham Once Called Kobe Bryant His Favorite Basketball Player
When asked in an interview with The Overlap about his favorite basketball player, Beckham quickly answered, “Kobe. Kobe was because I was in LA at the time when he was unbelievable. I mean he was always unbelievable, but you know the championships that they were winning at that time, you know, the rivalry between Lakers and the Celtics, Kobe was just a different animal.”
The soccer great went on to point out he he’s “grown up” in an era where you’d stay there “till the last second” when watching a sporting event. “Until that whistle goes.”
He joked, “I was the same at basketball games. People gated going with me to a basketball game because normally, if the game is done with two minutes to go, you get up and leave. I stayed there to watch Kobe walk off that court because he was just an unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable person, and just the best.”
