Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna are set to be remembered by the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) with a special award named after them.
The NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter – who was also a keen basketball player – both tragically lost their lives in January in a helicopter crash which also killed seven others.
And to honour their memory, the WNBA have named a new scholarship award after the pair.
The Kobe & Gigi Bryant Advocacy Award was unveiled during the WNBA draft on Friday (17.04.20), and it will honour those who "use their talent" to "raise awareness for the game" of women’s basketball.
A press release shared by Kobe’s wife Vanessa read: "[The award will be given to] a tireless advocate for women’s basketball and foster the highest levels of leadership. The award will honour advocates and influencers who use their time, talent and platform to raise awareness for the game."
Vanessa – who had Gianna, as well as Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and Capri, nine months, with Kobe – will also play a "large part" in determining the honouree of the award and the first will be handed out at the NBA All-Star game in 2021.
During the draft, Gianna was named an honorary "pick", alongside Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester, who also passed away in the helicopter crash.
Meanwhile, Vanessa recently branded the deaths of Kobe and Gianna as "senseless", as she marked the fourth anniversary of Kobe’s retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers.
She wrote on social media: "Mamba Day
"My husband worked his a** off for 20 years. Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time. He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives. He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement. We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time. She worked hard and gave her all 7 days a week just like her daddy. I wish I could back to that morning, every day. I wish they had a normal local game on 1/26. Life truly isn’t fair. This is just senseless. (sic)"
Kobe Bryant remembered with WNBA scholarship award
