10 photos show how Kobe Bryant loved being a dad to girls and urged his 'princesses' to play sports, including basketball
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Basketball icon Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday.
One reason why Bryant traveled by helicopter was to avoid Los Angeles' heavy traffic, so he could spend more time with his family.
Bryant is being remembered as a family man, who said he loved being a dad to girls, and called Gianna, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri his "princesses."
The former Lakers player tried to foster a love of sports in his daughters, and Gianna said she wanted to carry on her father's basketball legacy.
Since the news broke of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna's deaths on Sunday, fans, friends, and teammates have been paying tribute to the basketball legend who helped define his sport. But it's the moving stories about his dedication to his four daughters that show how he was the biggest star in his own home.
According to those who knew him best, including Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, Bryant was a loving parent to Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri. Bryant cherished his time with his family so much that he started traveling by helicopter to quickly trek from Lakers practice to his children's events without getting stuck in Los Angeles' heavy traffic, he said in a 2018 interview with Barstool Sports.
"I would have five more girls if I could," Bryant told ESPN reporter Elle Duncan before the birth of his fourth daughter. "I'm a girl dad."
Here are 10 photos that show Bryant being a hands-on and loving father for which he'll be remembered.
Kobe Bryant coached his daughter, Gianna, in basketball and dismissed fans who said he needed to have a son to pass on his legacy.
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In a 2018 interview with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Bryant shared that his daughter Gianna wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a professional basketball player. He was perfectly happy with that, even though fans were sure he would rather do it for a son.
"You gotta have a boy, you and V[anessa] gotta have a boy, to have somebody carry on the tradition, the legacy," Bryant told Kimmel of what fans would often say to him at games, even when Gianna was by his side.
But his daughter always had the perfect response, Bryant said:
"And she is like, 'I got this.'"
Bryant loved being a dad to girls and called his daughters his "princesses."
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Bryant often voiced how much he loved being a father to girls, and didn't let teasing from friends get to him.
"My friends say, 'It takes a real man to make a boy,' " Bryant said in a 2017 interview with Extra after the birth of his third daughter. "I'm like, 'Dude, it takes a king to make a princess … get in line.'"
He viewed each one his daughters the very same way.
"It's pretty cool for me 'cause it's Daddy's little princesses," he added.
Bryant wrote a children's book about a young female tennis player to inspire his daughters to play sports and work hard.
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Last year, Bryant published "Legacy and the Queen," a children's book about a young female tennis player who uses her athletic skills to save an orphanage. He said that his daughters were the inspiration for the book.
"I have four girls at home, and it's important that they see characters that look like them and that are also athletes," Bryant told Good Morning America last year. "They get tired of hearing my voice of 'be persistent, work hard, you know, believe in yourself.'"
Bryant valued being a husband and a father above anything else, according to close friend Derek Jeter.
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In an emotional piece written for the Players' Tribune on Sunday, retired Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter shared how the late basketball star was a family man before anything else.
"He cared much more about being a husband to Vanessa and a dad to his girls," Jeter wrote. "He loved his family — he was his family. That's what was important. And that's the Kobe I'll remember."
Bryant loved traveling with his family and took them on a surprise trip to Cabo for his 40th birthday last year.
The basketball star was known for posting photos of his family happily vacationing, attending movie premieres, and brunching together. To celebrate his 40th birthday last year, the father of four surprised his family with a trip to Cabo, he shared on his Instagram account.
Bryant gushed about how much he loved his daughters with affectionate messages on social media.
From heartfelt throwback Thursdays, to videos of his daughters playing basketball, Bryant's Instagram account documented his close relationship with his family.
Just one week ago, the athlete posted a photo of his 17-year-old daughter, Natalia, on her birthday, writing "You will always be my little Principessa #17."
Bryant would do anything to make his girls happy, even if that meant involved Halloween costumes.
For Halloween last year, the Bryant family dressed as characters from "The Wizard of Oz," with the basketball legend donning a green top hat, fake mustache, and green and yellow outfit to get into character as the Wizard.
"I can be an absolute teddy bear when I'm at home with my family, with my kids enjoying that family time," Bryant said in an interview earlier this month with the All the Smoke podcast.
Bryant valued his time with his family so much that he traveled by helicopter, so he could meet up with family quickly.
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When Bryant grew tired of the heavy Los Angeles traffic, which often caused him to miss important events like school plays, he started traveling by private helicopter so that he could maximize his time with his family, he shared in an interview with Barstool Sports in 2018.
"I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not compromise family time," he said.
What Bryant loved most about his retirement was having more time with his family.
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In an interview earlier this year with Showtime Basketball's All the Smoke podcast, Bryant opened up about how his family was his top priority, and how his retirement allowed him to enjoy being with them.
"It's been great, man," Bryant told USA Today of his retirement in his last interview before he died. "I got a chance to spend so much time with my family, and largely control my own schedule."
Up until the moment he died, Bryant showed his daughters they they were his No. 1.
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After retiring from the NBA, Bryant founded the Mamba League, a 40-team co-ed youth basketball league. Bryant's daughter Gianna was a player in the league.
The day before the crash, the pair was photographed at Gianna's basketball game. On the day he and his daughter died, they were on the way to a Mambo League basketball tournament.
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