Kobe Bryant’s daughter Gianna dies alongside NBA legend father

Kobe Bryant‘s 13-year-old Gianna, who went by “Gigi,” died in the helicopter crash that also killed her father, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. Gianna Bryant, who also goes by “Gigi,” was the 41-year-old's second-oldest daughter with his wife Vanessa Bryant. 

The five-time NBA champion, who played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was in a helicopter with eight others when it crashed in Calabasas, California on Sunday, killing all on board. 

The NBA confirmed that Bryant's daughter Gianna died in the crash. 

“The NBA family is devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

Bryant and Vanessa Bryant have three other daughters together, Natalia Diamante, 17, Bianka Bella, 3, and Cari Kobe, who was born in June 2018.

The NBA Hall of Fame star passed his love for the game onto his daughter Gianna, who was an aspiring basketball player. 

The proud father often uploaded clips of his daughter playing their favorite sport on social media. “Gigi getting better every day #teammamba #mambacita #fade,” Bryant wrote on one Instagram post. 

In his retirement, Bryant coached Gianna's middle school basketball team.

“It's been fun!” he told Entertainment Tonight in December 2018. “We've been working together for a year and a half and they've improved tremendously in that time. I've got a group of great parents, a group of really, really intelligent, hardworking girls, and — they're all seventh graders, they're all 12 years old — but they've been playing so well!”

“Gianna's pretty easy to coach,” he continued. “We haven't had any issues of dad-daughter sort of thing. She's very competitive and she's a hard worker, so there haven't been any issues with that.”

The teen also frequently attended NBA games with her father. The close duo were spotted courtside last month at the Barclays Center in New York City.

“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that's she's into basketball, we watch every night,” Bryant shared on the “All the Smoke” podcast in January.

Gianna had dreams of playing on the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team. Back in 2017, the Huskies fan hung out with the UConn women's basketball team when they were in Los Angeles. “Thank you @uconnwbb for treating our baby girl to a night she will never forget #uconn,” Kobe Bryant posted on Instagram at the time. 

In light of the tragic news, the team tweeted that “Mamba Mentality will live on forever.”

The death of the NBA legend and his daughter sent shockwaves through the community, with tributes pouring in from former NBA stars, including former teammate Shaquille O'Neal.

“There's no words to express the pain I'm going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed,” tweeted O'Neal. “My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”

Former President Obama, who is also an avid basketball fan, also paid his condolences to the Bryant family.

“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” Obama tweeted. “To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”