Vanessa Bryant shares touching tribute to Kobe, Gigi

The first anniversary of the deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna is in January, but wife and mother Vanessa Bryant paid tribute to another — happier — moment in their lives.

On Tuesday, Bryant posted on Instagram a series of photos and videos of her husband and daughter attending an NBA game a year ago. The images became iconic in the weeks following the pair’s deaths in a helicopter crash January 26.

“My gorgeous Gigi and handsome boo-boo. Mambacita and Black Mamba forever,” she captioned the post, following her words with two black hearts, the pair’s basketball jersey numbers, and #DaddysGirl and #GirlDad.

Offering Bryant support in the comments were Gabrielle Union, LeBron James and Khloe Kardashian. The post already has 1.8 million likes and nearly 20,000 comments in just 10 hours.

But it wasn’t just celebrities offering Bryant support and understanding.

“I am so sorry. This is a pain no mother/wife should experience . May God be with you,” one user wrote.

“I still can’t understand why they had to go so soon,” wrote another.

“They are so loved and so missed. We love you Vanessa. Think of you often,” a third person wrote.

Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed January 26 in a helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others. He was 41.