Gianna Bryant

Background

Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant was born on May 1, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, and was Vanessa and Kobe Bryant’s second child. Her father was African-American, and her mother is Mexican. Her mother Vanessa was a model, and her father Kobe Bryant was a famous basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers and won five N.B.A. titles. Bryant acquired an interest in basketball at a young age after witnessing her renowned father play, and her father supported her desire by taking her to his games, where she would often shoot around with the team during warm-ups.

Bryant attended Harbor Day Institution in Newport Beach, California, a private school. She began playing competitive basketball at her school and quickly became a member of the basketball league. Bryant became a famous player for her middle school basketball team and one of the M.V.P.s. She began playing basketball in 2011 at the Mamba Sports Academy, where her father mentored her. She started her career with the Mamba Ballers and remained with the team until 2020.

Reggie Miller tried to persuade her father to send her to the University of California, Los Angeles, when she was 12 years old. Kobe stated in an interview that she dreamt of playing basketball at the University of Connecticut. However, due to unfortunate events, fate had other plans. On January 26, 2020, near Calabasas, California, she passed away at 13 in a helicopter crash with her father. Bryant was a bright young basketball player at Harbor Day School, and she was one of the most valuable players on the team.