London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa gives tribute as he's inducted into Hall of Fame

Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa gives tribute as he's inducted into Hall of Fame

Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant paid an emotional tribute to her late husband as he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The basketball star died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, along with their daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others.

Vanessa, 39, decided to take a leaf out of her late husband’s book, who ‘winged every speech’ and didn’t prepare anything for the ceremony, but she was ready to heap glowing praise on him after admitting it was something she held back on while he was alive.

She said: ‘I used to always avoid praising my husband in public because I felt like he got enough praise from his fans.

‘Along the road someone had to bring him back to reality.

‘Right now I am sure he is laughing in heaven because I’m about to praise him in public for his accomplishments on one of the most public stages.

Kobe, Vanessa with two of their daughters, Natalia and Gianna


‘I can see him now, arms folded, with a huge grin saying, “Isn’t this some s***?”’

Vanessa was accompanied on stage by basketball great Michael Jordan, who acted as Kobe’s presenter for the enshrinement.

Vanessa described Kobe as ‘intelligent, eloquent and gifted at many things’ but also noted that she knew he would want to ‘thank everyone that helped him get here’, even if it was because they ‘doubted him’ or ‘worked against him’ because these were things that motivated him.

Presenter Michael Jordan was there to lend his support to Vanessa


‘After all,’ she continued, ‘he proved you wrong.’

She also spoke of the importance Kobe placed on family, and she described his ‘most cherished accomplishment’ as being ‘the very best girl dad’.

Kobe was also father to Natalia, 18, Bianka, four, and 22-month-old Capri with Vanessa.

Vanessa with her two youngest daughters, Bianka and Capri


She thanked him for their children, saying: ‘Thank you for our family. Thank you for our daughters. Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri.

‘Thank you for working so tirelessly to provide for us and for giving us the most amazing life together.

‘Thank you enough to last five times, and every lifetime I choose you.’

She revealed that Kobe had told her to ‘bet on yourself’, and shared her delight over the fact that he had done so.

Vanessa onstage making her speech


‘I’m glad you bet on yourself, you overachiever. You did it.

‘You’re in the hall of fame now. You’re a true champ.

‘You’re not just an MVP. You’re an all-time great.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×