Mamba Forever: Heartwarming stories from Kobe and Gigi Bryant's memorial

MANILA, Philippines — It has been almost a month since the world was plunged into mourning following the loss of NBA great Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven others in a helicopter crash.

Their untimely deaths came like a thief at night — ruthless and without warning.

But in their passing came a celebration of life, culminated by a public memorial for Kobe and Gigi on Monday, February 24, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (Tuesday, February 25, Manila time).

In the memorial organized by Kobe's surviving wife Vanessa, along with their three other daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri, the people closest to Kobe and Gigi shared stories of life and love.

As fans of the game, all of us have known Kobe and Gigi mostly for their prowess on the basketball court.

But eulogies shared by their friends and family showed different sides to the two souls that were just as beautiful as the ones they had on the court.

Philstar.com takes a dive into five of the most heartwarming stories shared during the memorial.

1. Gigi's love for her mother

The 13-year-old Gianna Bryant has been well known for her closeness to her father. The pair were rarely seen apart, whether it be in the gym training or going to a basketball game and discussing the x's and o's of the match.

But Gigi didn't fall short in showing her love for her mother as well.

Emotional and tearful, the Bryant matriarch shared her late daughter's way of showing her care for her mother: good morning and good night kisses — a habit that Gigi never forgot.

"She was always thoughtful, she always kissed me goodnight and kissed me good morning," Vanessa said.

"There were a few occassions where I was absolutely tired from being up with Bianka and Capri and I thought she had left to school without saying goodbye. I text [her] and say 'no kiss?', and Gianna would reply with 'Mama, I kissed you. You were asleep and I didn't wanna wake you'," she added.

"She was daddy's girl but I know she loved her mama and she would always tell me and show me how much she loved me. She was one of my very best friends," she said.

2. Learning Moonlight Sonata

Kobe Bryant was among many things — a basketball player, a film maker, a coach, a father and a husband.

But one would never think that the 41-year-old Laker was also actually a musician, albeit far from clasically trained.

In a humorous and touching story from Lakers General Manager and bestfriend to Kobe, Rob Pelinka, Kobe showed his hands were just as gifted on a piano as they were with a basketball.

Narrating phone conversations he had with Kobe during a work trip, Pelinka shared one of the most romantic stories anyone could imagine from the Black Mamba.

"During one of our calls, he shared an idea with me," Pelinka said.

"He said he hadn't been sleeping much at night because he was missing V and the girls so much... He vowed to teach himself by ear, to play the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata," he added.

Kobe had told his former agent that there was a piano sitting in his room that he could use.

Pelinka was naturally skeptical if Kobe could do what he had said.

But the five-time NBA champion proved his doubts wrong, being able to play the piece without mistake in a week's time.

"Kobe's passion and love for Vanessa, combined with a patience and focus that only the Black Mamba has, made this seemingly possible goal a reality," Pelinka said. 

"In my heart, I knew that moment was one of Kobe's grandest feats for his deepest love. Kobe had mastered one of the greatest piano movements ever written as a symbol of one of the beautiful loves has ever seen," he added.

Kobe and Vanessa were married for almost 19 years, with the pair being each other's first relationship.

Their love bore four beautiful daughters — one of which was so heartbreakingly taken from this world.

3. Kobe and Michael Jordan's unlikely friendship

Kobe Bryant was known as being a fierce competitor, something that the 13-year-old Gigi had inherited from her father.

But his competitive side was complimented by a kindness that was unparalleled.

One of Kobe's toughest rivals on the court was Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan. 

In the years when they crossed paths on the hardcourt, it was always an entertaining competition.

Both players were so skilled that they are often compared and locked horns in the "Greatest Of All Time" conversation.

But Jordan shared a side to their relationship during the memorial that not a lot of people knew.

Jordan talked about a text exchange he had with Kobe one time at 2 a.m., the 57-year-old remembered it fondly.

"He sends me a text and he says 'I'm trying to teach my daughter some moves and I don't know what I was thinking, or what I was working on but what were you thinking about as you were growing up trying to work on your moves?' I said 'What age?' He said '12'. I said '12, I was trying to play baseball'. He sends me a text back 'Laughing my ass off'," Jordan said.

"But the thing about him was we could talk about anything that related to basketball, but we could talk about anything that related to life and as we grow up in life, we rarely have friends that we can have conversations like that [with]," he added.

"It's even rare when you can go up against adversaries and have conversations like that,"

4. Being a "Girl Dad"

Kobe and Gigi's father-daughter relationship served as a beautiful eye-opener for a lot of dads out there — they didn't need a son to carry on a family "legacy".

For Kobe, his love for basketball had been passed down to Gigi. Already showing a lot of promise for her age, the second-generation basketball star had a lot of goals on her mind.

One of them was playing for 11-time NCAA Division I National Champions Uconn Huskies, a team who honored Gigi with her own jersey in one of their home games after the crash.

Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma also gave a message during the memorial, giving another glimpse to Kobe's amazing role as a father.

Narrating Gigi's experience when she first stepped into the Uconn locker room after a game, Auriemma showed how much Kobe cared and believed in her daughter.

"The most impressive thing about  that point in time was how Kobe stepped as far back as he could," Auriemma said.

"So anyone taking pictures, anyone there, would not know that this was Kobe Bryant's daughter. This was her moment," the mutli-titled coach added.

"He [Kobe] was being 'dad', he wasn't being Kobe Bryant and he was allowing Gigi to be Gigi, not Kobe Bryant's daughter. In today's day and age, that's a hell of a thing for parents to be able to do,"

5. Kobe's belief in Gigi and women's sports

Perhaps what makes Kobe the most interesting out of all other athletes of his calibre and fame was his passion and belief for women's sports.

From the WNBA to women's football, Kobe was an undying supporter for the fight for equality.

Of course, in the forefront of his vision was his daughter Gianna. But among others, NCAA all-time leading scorer Sabrina Ionescu and WNBA star Diana Taurasi were also some of the female ballers Kobe has touched the lives of.

Speaking in the memorial, both Ionescu and Taurasi talked about Kobe and Gigi and how their work was changing the game for women all over the sporting world.

Seeing Kobe as a friend and a mentor, Ionescu of the Oregon Ducks spoke about the Laker legend's determination to better the playing field, regardless of gender.

"I wanted to be a part of the generation that changed basketball for Gigi and her teammates, where being born female didn't mean being born behind — where greatness wasn't defined by gender," Ionescu said.

"You have too much to give to be silent, that's what he [Kobe] said, that's what he believed, that's what he lived through Gigi, through me, through his investment in women's basketball. That was his next great act — a girl dad," Ionescu added.

Taurasi, meanwhile, whom Kobe inspired to play as a Laker, hailed the late Gigi as what could have been the future of the game.

"Gigi, in many ways, represents the future of women's basketball — a future where a young woman aspires to play in the WNBA, the same way I wanted to become a Laker," Taurasi said.

Gigi already had goals to play for UConn, that in itself showed her fearless mentality. She represents a time where a young girl doesn't ened permission to play, her skill would command respect," Taurasi added.

As Michael Jordan had said in his eulogy, when Kobe Bryant and Gigi died, a part of him died — and along with it a part of each of us.

But the stories and legacies shared keep them all living in us, despite their departure from this earth.

So, what is your Mamba Forever story?