‘Te Amo Mambacita’: Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute To Gigi Bryant On Her Would-Be 17th Birthday (PHOTOS)

On Monday morning, Vanessa started by uploading photos of her late daughter.

Her initial post featured Gigi having a blast at Disneyland. The upload was captioned, “Happy 17th birthday, baby girl. I love you and miss you so much, sweet Angel.

Notably, the official Instagram account for the Los Angeles Lakers and noteworthy stars like Ciara, Taraji P. Henson, Storm Reid, Khloé Kardashian, La La Anthony, and Monica left supportive comments.

Additional uploads of Gigi from the same occasion soon followed, and Vanessa warmly noted, “We love you to the moon and back infinity +1.”

In another post from what appears to be Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, the mother-of-four wrote, “Te Amo Mambacita.”

As for Natalia Bryant, she shared a couple of pictures accompanied by some fitting lyrics from ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrtU3Clprfo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

On top of these uploads, Vanessa also had various athletes acquainted with Bryant acknowledge how to “Play Gigi’s Way.”

WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu noted that playing Gigi’s way means “completely devoting yourself to the process of being the absolute best player and the best person that you can be.”

Former teammate Aubrey Callaghan and NBA coach Pau Gasoline‘s expressed similar sentiments.

Jon Grogan, Gigi’s 5th- and 6th-grade basketball coach, also spoke positively of Gigi’s impact.

Finally, NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo said that playing the Gigi way means to “play with joy and always be the best version of yourself.”

https://twitter.com/kobehighlight/status/1653087251117789184?s=20

We should also add that, in honor of Gigi’s heavenly birthday, Nike unveiled a “Mambacita” version of the Nike Kobe 4 Protro.

Sneaker News reports that the “Mambacita” kicks were unveiled earlier this year. They feature a predominately-white color scheme and were set to release on Gigi’s would-be 17th birthday.

Each shoe has “GIGI” embellished on the spine and aglets (shoutout to Phineas and Ferb), accompanied by a yellow-colored “2” to pay homage to her jersey number.

The shoes cost $180, and the proceeds will benefit the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Nike Kobe 4 Protro "Mambacita" confirmed for May 1st release on Gigi Bryant's birthday 🕊️ with proceeds going towards the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation pic.twitter.com/YB8UAw8Pj4

— Sneaker News (@SneakerNews) April 28, 2023