7 photos of 'Black Mamba' Kobe Bryant and daughter 'Mambacita' Gianna together

Kobe Bryant, 41, was helping his daughter Gianna, 13, pursue her basketball dreams when they died together in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles on Monday morning (Manila time).

The father and daughter were travelling to Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, where he was supposed to coach Gianna's team in a tournament, the Ventura County Star reported.

When Kobe retired from the National Basketball Association in 2016, he went on to coach Gianna's middle-school basketball team.

Just last November, Bryant posted a video on Instagram, where Gianna was seen doing her dad's signature shot: Finishing a solo dribble with a fade "swish" known as "Kobe." 

"I hate seeing my #teammamba girls play against each other. This is GREAT defense by our mamba pg Alyssa Altobelli and a familiar looking fade by our 2gd the #Mambacita," Kobe wrote in the caption of his post.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hate seeing my #teammamba girls play against each other. This is GREAT defense by our mamba pg Alyssa Altobelli and a familiar looking fade by our 2gd the #Mambacita

A post shared by Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) on

Nov 15, 2019 at 12:10am PST

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in March 2019, Kobe said his daughter Gianna plans to play in the Women's National Basketball Association in the future.

He shared how Gianna would tell off fans, who suggested they needed a boy to carry Kobe's legacy. 

"The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans would come up to me and she'd be standing next to me and they'd be like you gotta have a boy. You and V gotta have a boy, somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy. She's like 'Oi! I got this! You don't no boy for that. I got this!'" Bryant narrated to Kimmel.

Tell em Gigi ????????

When @jimmykimmel asks @kobebryant if his daughter, Gianna Bryant, wants to play in the WNBA... pic.twitter.com/691WXxy7rq

— WNBA (@WNBA) March 18, 2019

Gianna is becoming a star of her own after showing off her ball skills which had been captured by basketball media websites Ballislife and BallerTV.

“No ????, I own it, my name, you know the name!! “ ????????????
13 y/o Gianna Bryant!! ?????‍??@kobebryant @MambaSportsHQ #ballislife pic.twitter.com/y932dcbGTz

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) May 20, 2019

Bryant gave his daughter Gianna the nickname "Mambacita" after his own court tag "Black Mamba."

Kobe played for the LA Lakers for two decades. He was an all-star for 18 years and has won five NBA championships under his belt.

The basketball star also bagged two Olympic gold medals when he was with the US team in 2008 and 2012.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa Laine, had four daughters: Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri, who was born in June 2019.   

— LA, GMA News