Sunday, January 26 was a sad day for the United States of America. Basketball fans and people all across the world woke up to the heart breaking news that the world lost several legends. Kobe Bryant, along with eight others were in a fatal helicopter crash on the morning of January 26th. Gianna Bryant, the daughter of Kobe, was one of the nine victims in that tragic Sunday accident around 10:30 am PT. The rising star was just starting to gain fame as one of the top basketball players in her class at only 13 years old. 

Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, known as Gigi to her friends and family but as “Mambacita” to her father, attended Harbor Day Middle School in California. She played on many AAU teams, but gained most of her fame on the Mamba Sports Academy Girls Basketball team, which her father not only founded but coached. She was a young star. According to The New York Times, the clone of her young father had high aspirations to attend the University of Connecticut to play on their famed basketball team and then head to the WNBA.  Tragically, that plan was cut short and the world will never see that happen. 

In remembrance of Gigi and her father, the NBA and basketball stadiums all across the world have followed up with ways to remember the people in the plane crash. Various games started with both teams taking a 24 second-shot clock violation (24 was Kobe Bryant’s number on the Lakers).  At the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball game, head coach Geno Auriemma and his team had a team jersey with the number 2 next to them on the bench with flowers to commemorate Gigi. 

Vanessa Bryant, the mother of Gigi and wife of Kobe Bryant, revealed via Instagram that Gianna’s No. 2 was retired by the Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, California. Another great way to remember the great player she was bound to be.