Kobe Bryant passed away five months ago now in a helicopter crash that took nine lives, including that of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, but in a testament to the impact he had on the world, tributes continue pouring in for the Lakers star to this day. On the weekend, the ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards aired a tribute to the late L.A. basketball legend with Snoop Dogg at the helm. Prepare for all the feels.Snoop Dogg’s rap is underscored with a slow-paced piano ballad as the artist goes through the highlights of Kobe’s career—his Olympic gold medal, back-to -back championships—along with his determination and grit, the “ice water in [his] veins.” There’s even a line about how he “dropped 81” on the reigning World Champions, the Toronto Raptors.
Images of Kobe on the basketball court were spliced with street art murals honouring the iconic sports legend that have popped up around Los Angeles since his tragic death. The
tribute was introduced by Bryant's former teammate Pau Gasol who reminded the world that Kobe was not only an amazing player, he was also an aspirational #GirlDad to his four daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri.This Sunday was also the first Father’s Day the Bryant family had to spend without theirs, and his wife Vanessa made sure to pay tribute to her late husband with a
touching Instagram post. She shared a photo of Kobe with their four girls and captioned it, “Happy Father's Day to the BEST daddy in the world. We miss you so much. We love you forever and and always. Love, Nani, Gigi, BB, Koko and VB.”[video_embed id='1958508']RELATED: What the future of professional sports could look like post-pandemic [/video_embed]As if this weekend wasn’t chock full of Kobe memories already, it was also his youngest daughter Capri’s first birthday. Vanessa made sure to post about the happy event while acknowledging that two dear people were missing from the festivities.
Posting on Instagram, she wrote, “Happy 1st Birthday Capri! Mommy, Daddy, Nani, Gigi and BB love you SO much!!! God Bless you sweet princess. Capri Kobe Bryant a.k.a. 'Koko-Bean' named after her dearly missed daddy, Kobe Bean Bryant. We miss you SO much Gigi and Daddy.”Vanessa has since made her Instagram account private.Since Kobe’s death, Vanessa has endeavored to carry on his legacy by continuing his work on his book project,
The Wizenard Series, which was a collaboration between Kobe and author Wesley King. She also
renamed Kobe's Mamba Sports Foundation to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation to honour their daughter and is pushing for a helicopter safety bill, "
The Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act," which would require higher capacity helicopters (like the one the Bryants were on) to have more data collection and warning system capabilities.Snoop Dogg famously took the news of Kobe’s death rather hard;
he flew into a rage at Gayle King when, in covering his death, she mentioned Kobe’s sexual assault case. He later apologized for his remarks.[video_embed id='1981274']BEFORE YOU GO: It's a father-daughter pizza party! [/video_embed]
