As NBA fans and people from around the world mourn the loss of legendary Lakers great Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a fatal helicopter crash on Sunday morning, many have taken this time to reflect on their personal story of Kobe and how truly awesome he was.
On Monday night’s episode of ESPN’s SportsCenter, anchor Elle Duncan possibly gave one of the best stories when she tearfully shared a story from the time she met Kobe backstage at an ESPN event in 2018. Duncan recounts that she asked the father of three daughters at the time for advice, and he said, “Just be grateful that you’ve been given that gift, because girls are amazing.”
Duncan asked how he would feel if he and Vanessa Bryant had a fourth daughter and that’s when she teared up:
“Without hesitation, he said: “I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.” When it came to sports, he said that his oldest daughter was an accomplished volleyball player, and that the youngest was a toddler so TBD. But that middle one, he said that middle one was “a monster, she’s a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it.” That middle one, of course, was Gigi.”
“The only small source of comfort for me is knowing that he died doing what he loved the most: being a dad. Being a girl dad.”
