Vanessa Bryant pays tribute to Kobe and Gianna after suing ‘reckless’ chopper firm

Twenty thousand mourners flocked to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Monday to say their goodbyes to Kobe and Gianna Bryant.

The Celebration of Life honoring the basketball legend and his 13-year-old daughter drew fans from across the country to the Southern California city almost a month after they were killed along with seven others in a helicopter crash on January 26.

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife and Gianna’s mother, opened the memorial with tearful remarks about her ‘baby girl’ and her ‘soulmate’.

‘God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other,’ Vanessa said. ‘He had to bring them home to have them together.’

She described Gianna as ‘an amazingly sweet and gentle soul’ who lit up every room she walked into, and choked up as she talked about how her daughter inherited her father’s fierce love and talent for basketball, and how she would never get to see Gianna become the trailblazer she was destined to be in the sports world.

Vanessa then reflected on her 21-year relationship with Kobe, whom she described as ‘the best girl dad’, who taught their four daughters ‘how to be brave and keep pushing forward when things get tough’.

NBA legends Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal took the stage later on, both breaking down in tears as they remembered their late friend and rival.

Several other famous sports figures who knew Kobe personally and professionally also spoke at the memorial, which featured musical performances by Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera.

Staples Center sold out for the memorial, and the money made from ticket sales will be given to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which supports youth sports programs in under-served communities and teaches sports to girls and women.

Vanessa chose February 24 as the date for the memorial in honor of the pair’s uniform numbers.

Kobe wore number 24 over the second half of his career and Gianna wore number 2 on her youth basketball teams.

Symbolic meanings ran throughout the ceremony, which took place on a 24-foot-by-24-foot stage.

Audience members included a number of fellow sports stars and A-list friends of the Bryants, including Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Michael Phelps, Snoop Dogg, Steph Curry, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Scotty Pippen.

Beyoncé opened the service by performing her hit XO – which she said was one of Bryant’s favorite songs – followed by Halo.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel then took the stage and gave a short speech before introducing Vanessa, who thanked the audience before giving an emotional tribute to her husband and daughter.

She described Gianna as a doting daughter who took after both of her parents with her ‘infectious smile’ and her ‘incredible’ athleticism.

‘She was daddy’s girl but I know she loved her mama,’ Vanessa said of Gianna. ‘She was one of my very best friends.’

‘Gigi was very competitive, like her daddy, but Gianna had sweet grace about her. Her smile was like sunshine. Her smile took up her entire face, like mine,’ she said.

‘Kobe always said she was me. She had my fire, my personality and sarcasm, she was tender and loving on the inside. She had the best laugh. It was infectious. It was pure and genuine.’

She teared up as she spoke about how she would never get to witness Gianna’s wedding day or see her change the face of basketball.

Vanessa then shifted to her ‘soulmate’ Kobe.

‘Kobe was known as a fierce competitor on the basketball court, the greatest of all time, a writer, an Oscar winner, and the Black Mamba.

‘But to me, he was Kob-kob, my boo boo, my Bayboo, my Papichulo. I was his VB, his Principessa, his Reina, his Queen Mamba, and his Viski-Maniski-Fabulissi.

‘I couldn’t see him as a celebrity, nor just an incredible basketball player. He was my sweet husband and the beautiful father of our children. He was mine. He was my everything.

Kobe and I had been together since I was 17 1/2 years old. I was his first girlfriend, his first love, his wife, his best friend, his confidant, and his protector.

‘He was the most amazing husband. Kobe loved me more than I can ever express or put into words. He was the early bird and I was a night owl. I was fire and he was ice, and vice versa at times. We balanced each other out.

‘He would do anything for me. I have no idea how I deserved a man that loved and wanted me more than Kobe. He was charismatic, a gentleman, he was loving, adoring, and romantic.

‘I want my daughters to know and remember the amazing person, husband and father he was. The kind of man that wanted to teach the future generations to be better and keep them from making his own mistakes.’

She concluded by addressing Kobe directly: ‘Babe, you take care of our Gigi. And I got Nani, Bibi and Coco. We’re still the best team. We love and miss you, Boo Boo and Gigi. May you both rest in peace and have fun in heaven until we meet again one day.

‘We love you both and miss you forever and always.’

The memorial was held just as attorneys for Vanessa filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters Inc, the company that operated the doomed helicopter that crashed last month, killing Kobe and Gianna.

Kobe’s close friend Michel Jordan delivered an equally heart wrenching tribute to the star, breaking down in tears as he said: ‘When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died.’

Jordan said he wanted to be the ‘best big brother I could be’ for Kobe.

‘As a basketball player, as a businessman, and a storyteller, and as father, in the game of basketball, in life, as a parent, Kobe left nothing in the tank. He left it all on the floor,’ he said.

‘Kobe gave every last ounce of himself to whatever he was doing. After basketball he showed a creative side … that I didn’t think any of us knew he had.’