Kobe Bryant Breaking News, Photos, and Videos

Vanessa Bryant is celebrating the Los Angeles Lakers on their big win!

The 38-year-old widow of Kobe Bryant took to her Instagram Story on Sunday evening (October 11) to congratulate the Lakers after defeating the Miami Heat to win the 2020 NBA Finals.

Vanessa shared an old photo of Kobe with Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka, along with the caption, “Congratulations Uncle P! Congratulations @Lakers Kobe was right RP ‘stay the course- block out the noise’ – @kobebryant.”

She also added, “Wish Kobe and Gianna were here to see this.”

The win marks the Lakers’ 17th championship, and first since Kobe led the team to victory back in 2010.

The Lakers dedicated their season to Kobe after he died in a helicopter crash in January alongside his daughter GiGi and seven others.

Kobe played his entire 20-year career as a Lakers player, wearing jersey numbers 8 and 24.

California has passed a new bill following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill on Monday (September 28) making it illegal for first responders to take unauthorized photos of the deceased at crime scenes. The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2021.

The legislation would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum $1,000 fine per violation, for a first responder to take a photo “for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose or a genuine public interest,” according to The Wrap.

The new bill was prompted by lawmakers after deputies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department took unauthorized photos of Kobe and the others at the site of their helicopter crash back in January, and were shared outside of the investigation, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Find out how Los Angeles will soon be honoring Kobe Bryant.

Vanessa Bryant is slamming her mother Sofia Urbieta Laine after she gave an interview claiming Vanessa kicked her out of the house after the tragic deaths of Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant in a helicopter accident earlier this year.

“She told me, ‘I need you to get out of this house.’ She also told me that she wanted her car and she wants it now,” Sofia said during an interview. She apparently was crying during the interview as well.

Now, Vanessa has issued a statement firing back at her mother’s claims.

“My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly, and yet my mother had the audacity to do a television interview speaking negatively of me while shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name,” Vanessa said in a statement (via Page Six).

“She has removed all her diamond jewelry, emptied the apartment I provided, and put away the furniture to make it look like she doesn’t have my support. My husband and I have supported her financially for the past 20 years, and continue to do so, in addition to her monthly alimony,” she added.

Vanessa added that her mother “has not been physically present or emotionally supportive of my daughters or me” since the late January tragedy.

“Now I see what is most important to my mother and it’s more than painful,” she said. “I hope that everything that is coming out about our personal relationship ends here.”

It’s obviously been an extremely difficult time for Vanessa and her family after losing Kobe and Gigi, 13. She recently had to mark Kobe‘s first birthday after his death.

Our continued thoughts are with Vanessa and daughters Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.

Pau Gasol is honoring his late friend Kobe Bryant.

The 40-year-old basketball pro and wife Catherine McDonnell welcomed their first child, a baby girl, earlier this month.

“Our little one has finally arrived!! The delivery went really well and we couldn’t be happier!!” Pau wrote on Instagram.

Pau, who played on the Lakers with Kobe, revealed that he and his wife named their daughter after Kobe‘s daughter Gianna.

“Elisabet Gianna Gasol 😍, a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter!! ❤️👨‍👩‍👧 #girldad,” Pau continued in his announcement.

Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven other people tragically died in a helicopter crash on January 26.

The new parents chose Vanessa Bryant to be their daughter’s godmother.

“My goddaughter is here!!!! Congratulations @paugasol@catmcdonnell7 Love you 3 so much! So touched by your request to honor my Gigi ❤️Can’t wait to hold Elisabet Gianna Gasol ❤️,” Vanessa wrote on Instagram.

Find out how Pau honored Gianna on what would have been her 14th birthday back in May.

Shareef O’Neal is sharing an emotional find.

The 20-year-old son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal shared a photo of a cloud on social media earlier in the week – which he believed appeared to take the form of the number eight, just like one of the late Kobe Bryant‘s jersey numbers.

“I can’t believe I saw this today. It sent chills through my body .. it might be a stretch to some but I see it clear as day .. even the same font. Wow, so amazing #8 🕊🐍 WE MISS YOU,” Shareef captioned the emotional post.

That number was Kobe’s first jersey number as a Los Angeles Laker, later wearing 24. He’s the only player in league history to have two jersey numbers retired within the same team.

Some fans in the comments also not only agreed with him, but felt that they saw the number two in the bottom right of the image, representing his late daughter, Gianna Bryant.

Shaq recently opened up about his first meeting with Kobe.

Fans are outraged that Kobe Bryant was left out of the In Memoriam tribute at the 2020 MTV VMAs.

Some were wondering if this blatant omission was due to the fact that he was not a music star, but the VMAs included late stars Naya Rivera and Chadwick Boseman who were also not known as musicians.

The introduction to the tribute even added that they would be honoring “other brilliant artists we lost.”

After this segment aired, Kobe Bryant‘s fans took to Twitter to express disbelief and outrage over the exclusion of his name. Kobe was not just a star NBA player, he also was an Oscar winner for his Best Animated Short Film, Dear Basketball, among many other endeavors before his tragic death in January of 2020.

Click inside to see some of the fan tweets expressing outrage…More Here! »

Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant are two stars who we lost way too soon this year and they actually shared a special bond.

After Kobe tragically died in a helicopter crash in January, Chadwick opened up about the connection they shared in the few times they spent together.

Chadwick appeared on an episode of the HBO show The Shop: Uninterrupted in March and opened up about the conversations he had with Kobe.

“He’s not somebody that I was best friends with or that I knew really well,” Chadwick said (via People). “But the crazy thing is that in those four conversations, it felt like somebody that I knew really well.”

“The first time I saw him was before he won the Oscar,” Chadwick said. “It was crazy because we were sitting in the party talking about philosophy and poetry — that’s who he was. He was like, ‘This is what I’m into right now as an artist, not as a basketball player.’ We started talking about it, I’m like ‘Yo we should do something together.’ He was applying the same type of focus that he’s applied to basketball, as a producer or director, whatever.”

“He looked at me and I saw his eyes go in like he was meditating,” he added. “He looked up to me and he said, ‘Two years.’ It’s like he saw the whole thing unfold and he was like, ‘I need two years.’ And I walked away and I said to my fiancé, ‘Yo, he is who they say he is.’”

After Kobe died, Chadwick took to Twitter and said, “I’m heartbroken. Shocked. Husband, Father, Strategist, Philosopher-Poet, Warrior-Athlete, Filmmaker…your focus is magnetic, Kobe. My love goes out to you and your family.”

Chadwick passed away on Friday (August 28) after losing his four-year battle with colon cancer.

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