On Saturday, the NAACP Image Awards paid tribute to late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, who passed away in a helicopter crash in January.
The tribute, which aired during the awards ceremony on BET, opened with an empty basketball court and featured highlights from Bryant’s career.
Banners featuring Bryant’s jersey numbers 8 and 24 also appeared during the tribute, which ended with a photo of the father with his daughter, Gianna, sitting courtside at a game.
The former Los Angeles Laker passed away January 26 following a plane crash in Calabasas, California. The crash claimed the life of Bryant, Gianna, and seven others.
Fans across the world mourned the loss of the superstar, whose legacy had expanded beyond basketball. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, remembered him as an “adoring husband” and “amazing father.”
“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time,” she wrote in a post shared to social media. “Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri…We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”
