Vanessa Bryant shared a picture of Sydney Leroux’s new tattoo on Instagram on Monday. The ink is a simple number 2, which was Gianna Bryant ‘s jersey number, as well as Leroux’s soccer jersey number, according to a People report. Gianna died in a helicopter crash along with her father, Kobe Bryant , and seven others on January 26, 2020.
In her post, Vanessa thanked the soccer player for honoring her daughter and expressed her love for Leroux, who is a friend of the Bryant family.
After the news broke that Gianna and Kobe had died in the crash, Leroux took to Instagram with a touching tribute to the 13-year-old, who loved playing basketball like her dad. The post featured three photographs. The first was a picture of Gigi and Kobe sitting courtside hugging. The second showed the father-daughter duo standing back to back, looking fierce in their Mamba warmups, and the third captured Kobe coaching Gigi on the court.
“Your dad told me that you were going to be better than he was. You had the gift no matter what you were playing,” wrote Leroux. “I know you’ll be looking down on your mom and your sisters with your big smile while shooting hoops with your dad, doing what you both love. 2 will always be ours.”
In the same post, Leroux also expressed her thanks to the late NBA legend for allowing her to be part of his family. It sounded like Kobe served as a mentor for the soccer player as she learned to play her game at a high level.
Vanessa shared the post in the hours of the morning before the 10 a.m. PT tribute planned for Kobe, Gigi, and the others who lost their lives, which will take place at the Staples Center — the house that Kobe built. The memorial will allow Los Angeles and the world to pay their respects to those who died in the crash.
The upload received over 1.3 million likes on the popular social media platform as family, friends, and fans expressed their love and support for the grieving widow and mom. The comments were limited, but more than 9,244 still replied, leaving beautiful messages of love.
“Thinking of you today and every day,” wrote one Instagram user.
“May God bless you and COVER YOU,” a second replied, along with a red heart emoji.
“Hope to hear from you today. Sending love and peace,” expressed a third follower.
“Queen Mamba, we have you in our prayers,” a fourth person noted.
