I thought about creating a thread for Gianna months ago while the pain was still fresh, for the unquestionably great basketball career she had ahead of her. With her love of the game and Pops's love for her and coaching her no doubt in a way she loved to be coached. From the youtube clips already out of her young exploits I thought it might be a fun depository to post them and maybe even compare to some all time great female players who have decent clips to compare to at similar young ages. It may sink out of sight but at least now it does exist here on Lakersball. Then the notion kind of passed. But what the heck ... especially after the WNBA honored Gigi Bryant and her teammates with this below .... this is Gianna's thread. I felt like I was getting a second go round for my fandom of Kobe's career. Was totally all over following her and rooting for her and for Kobe's involvement still in the game. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kobe-b...elicopter-crash-vanessa-bryant-231129619.html “Thank you so much for honoring my Gigi and selecting her to be an honorary draft pick this year,” Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, said. “It would have been a dream come true for her. She worked tirelessly every single day. She wanted to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, just like her daddy. So thank you, thank you for honoring my little girl. Kobe and Gigi loved the WNBA."
This could also go in the Kobe thread, but this gives you a peak into Gianna’s mindset trying to motivate a college team she loved lol.
I never watched a WNBA game but was planning to when Gianna eventually became a WNBA player. I truly think she would have taken WNBA to the next level. I was devastated when I found out that Kobe had died from the crash but once I heard that Gianna was also a victim, it became 10x worse. She had what it took to be the next great female athlete. The other day and I hate to say this, I was thinking what if the coronavirus had forced a lockdown during January? It's irrational thinking like this that will affect you but I am just more appreciative of Kobe than anything for getting me to love basketball and the Lakers.
Ahhhh .... here we go. Only watched the first 30 seconds and had to come post. This has to be some of the most recent footage of Gigi Bryant ever taken. She literally was going to be an unbelievable female version 1A of Kobe Bryant himself. Like kobe was a 1A version of Michael Jordan. She already had many of Kobes mannerisms ..... (look at her at the FT line in above footage and see her kicking her heels up for whatever reasons on both left and right sides and touching with her hands just like Kobe did) .... and his demeanor and no doubt the mamba mentality was at an advanced stage in her already. Read Vanessa's quotes above. "She worked tirelessly every single day. She wanted to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, just like her daddy." Edit .... 2 minutes in and I'm missing like crazy just watching "this" team already ... with Kobe's coaching and teaching and their work and preparation .... play their games and their tournaments as they grew in age. Like Kobe said they were ballers.
While I certainly can appreciate Gianna, I don't most of her highlights and think, "damn, that girl is going to be dominant". Athleticism doesn't stand out. She's lean, skilled, and thinks basketball, but being a top pro will take lots more than that. She was off to a great start, but reading some posts, it's like people thought teams were already lining up to draft her. The reality is that if her dad was not Kobe Bryant, you would never had heard of her before based on her basketball exploits unless you were an insider. Hope that doesn't sound callous, but I don't think we should get too carried away. It was premature to guess how her career might have went, how tall she might have been, if she had nagging injuries, etc, etc, etc.
She was only 13 with a birthday coming up May 1st. Another 6-8 (?) years or more before a WNBA draft date as reportedly she wanted to go to U Conn. And let's face it Kobe was a great athlete but not the same level as MJ nor had his hands. What set him apart was the constant work and skills and mentality all of which she was well on her way with. EDIT .... Plus good chance she had some really good height for a guard / SF with the women as she grew older. Look how tall the oldest daughter is next to Vanessa. I don't think pre-mature at all. IMO. Just found this. Natalia the oldest daughter is 5'10" at 17 years old and a volleyball player As a for instance, within this article: (whole article is a good read by the way, with other WNBA players saying what they noticed in Gigi already) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation...have-carried-on-her-fathers-basketball-legacy Many of Gigi’s favorite players had UConn ties, like Katie Lou Samuelson — she had played for Davis, which led to the initial connection between he and Bryant — and Gabby Williams. “From what I saw,” Williams said Monday, “she was going to be heaps better than me.” Williams was floored when Gigi told her she was her favorite player. She would FaceTime with the Bryants before games, gave Gigi her Chicago Sky uniforms, even practiced with Gigi and her teammates and was blown away by how hard she had to play against them. “She had the right mentality, so confident, relentless, so mean and aggressive,” Williams said. “And then (she would) walk off the court with the biggest, sweetest smile on her face. But my favorite part about her was just seeing how much she loved the game and loved to learn. “It’s intimidating to have to follow in those footsteps,” Williams added, “but she really embraced it.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmQE0wnbgV4
Of course, it's all speculation but what could have been, yes? We will sadly never know how she would have developed but with her dad inspiring her at every turn she would have accomplished something at some level. I would believe that after an athletic career, she likely could have been an ambassador or had a front office job for a WNBA team. Her dad showed that there is a career after being a pro. Gianna Bryant would seek and thrive after she's done with hers even if it did not come to fruition. What can't be denied is that the young lady had drive to be more.
For her to try to encourage and inspire UCONN after a loss at that age, I think that much is clear. She had a bigger vision on life, and I think it's obvious she would have been successful no matter what she did. If you put that mentality into even a mediocre athlete, there's a decent chance they will have a long successful career with at least a role. (A la Dudley) Dudley was ACC Player of the Year in College, and even if he didn't have the talent to be an NBA Star, he's carved himself out a nice niche and very successful career with obvious post playing career potential in broadcasting of some sort. You know she'd have been successful playing in college due to the lifelong grooming. The pros still remain a challenge for even some of the greatest college hoopers of all time. Adam Morrison anyone?
If Adam Morrison had been Kobe’s son and motivated to learn everything about the game that Kobe knew .... he wouldn’t have been Adam Morrison.
Been hard to look through this thread, I have mostly avoided it. But, stories like this are how they live on and we can appreciate the memories
Just found this compilation. Like Kobe's compilations you have probably seen what there are of Gigi's best highlights but this is a new edit and a little longer and maybe something someone hasn't seen. One thing clear in the opening footage is she technically was looking great at 13 years old. A really sweet shooting motion already for her size. Learning from the most all around technically skilled player ever. Her Pops.
