Gianna Bryant's high school friends and basketball teammates at Harbor Day middle school pay tribute to the fallen teenage girl in a touching ceremony where they retire her jersey.
- February 6, 2020
AceShowbiz - Vanessa Bryant remembered her late daughter Gianna in a heartbreaking post on Instagram on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, as her high school held a ceremony to officially retire the 13-year-old's jersey following her death.
The teenager died alongside her basketball player father Kobe Bryant when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in California last month, January 2020. Gianna was remembered by her school friends and basketball teammates at Harbor Day middle school on Wednesday in a touching memorial, during which they retired her number 2 sports top. Gianna had worn the number 2 jersey as a player in the Harbor Day basketball team and the Mamba Sports Academy.
Alongside photos from the ceremony, Vanessa wrote, "My Gianna. God I miss you. I've been so lucky to have woken up to see your gorgeous face and amazing smile for 13 years. Wish it would've been until my last breath. Mommy loves you to the moon and back. Infinity plus 1. #2 #Mambacita #GigiBryant."
She also later shared a snap of Gianna's framed jersey, writing, "My Gigi. I love you! I miss you. You've taught us all that no act of kindness is ever too small. Mommy is still and will ALWAYS be so proud of you mamacita. #2."
As part of the ceremony, a group of the school's 6th and 7th graders gathered together to sing Maroon 5's tune "Memories" in tribute to Gianna, with a video of the emotional moment shared by the group's frontman Adam Levine on Twitter.
"It's important to cry. It's important to sing. It's important to love so hard and hold on so tightly for as long as we can. Now more than ever. #GIRLDAD," the dad of two daughters, Dusty, 3, and Gio, 23 months, wrote, referencing Kobe's now famous quote that he was proud to be a "girl dad," as the father of four daughters with Vanessa.
