Vanessa Bryant marked what would have been Kobe Bryant’s 48th birthday on Sunday with an emotional social media tribute to the late Los Angeles Lakers icon.
The 44-year-old socialite – who boasts 15.2 million Instagram followers – posted a playful snap of the late NBA legend sitting in her lap on a lawn chair captioned: ‘Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much.’
Bryant, born Vanessa Cornejo, was met with an outpouring of love from well-known friends and supporters, including David Beckham, Kris Jenner, Rachel Zoe, Gabrielle Union, Tina Knowles, La La Anthony, Russell Wilson, Kimora Lee Simmons and Michael Phelps.
The founder of the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation also received a simple but heartfelt message from the couple’s eldest daughter, Natalia, who commented with a red heart emoji.
The 23-year-old took to Instagram stories on Sunday to post a childhood snap of herself beside Kobe, and wrote: ‘Happy birthday Daddy.’
Kobe, a Philadelphia native, is also survived by the couple’s younger daughters, nine-year-old Bianka and seven-year-old Capri.
Vanessa Bryant honored Kobe Bryant on Sunday, the day that would have marked the late NBA legend’s 48th birthday (pictured July 3)
The 44-year-old shared a lighthearted photo of Kobe sitting on her lap in a lawn chair, writing in the caption: “Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much”
Kobe and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, were killed in January 2020 when a helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California. He was 41.
In 2023, Vanessa and her daughters reached a $28.8 million settlement with Los Angeles County, following her 2022 invasion of privacy trial over the handling of crash-scene photos.
This, after eight LA County Sheriff deputies had taken cell phone photos of Kobe and the eight other victims at the crash site and shared them with friends, family and strangers at a bar.
The high school sweethearts were married for an impressive 19 years, despite the Orange County native filing for divorce in 2011 before withdrawing the legal docs in 2013.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Bryant’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
On Sunday, the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation ‘gifted adorable onesies and other special gear’ to the newborn patients at the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court inside Hoag Hospital Newport Beach.
Each gift carried the message: ‘May you grow with the belief Kobe and Gianna held dear – that with love, hard work and courage, anything is possible.’
And Bryant made sure to make an appearance at the Mamba Invitational, a high school basketball showcase, which was held August 8-9 at L.A. LIVE at Peacock Place.
The NBA honored the iconic baller on his posthumous birthday with a portrait captioned: ‘Remembering Kobe 8.23.78.’
Bryant (born Cornejo) received supportive comments from her famous friends including David Beckham, Kris Jenner, Rachel Zoe, Gabrielle Union, Tina Knowles, La La Anthony, Russell Wilson, Kimora Lee Simmons and Michael Phelps
The Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation founder also received a comment, in the form of a red heart emoji, by their eldest daughter Natalia
The 23-year-old took to Instagram stories on Sunday to post a childhood snap of herself beside Kobe, and wrote: ‘Happy birthday Daddy’
The Philly native is also survived by their seven-year-old daughter Capri and nine-year-old daughter Bianka (pictured June 20)
Kobe and their daughter Gianna tragically died – age 41 and 13 – during a 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California (pictured in 2019)
In 2023, Bryant and her girls were awarded a $28.8 million settlement from LA County after winning their two-week invasion of privacy trial in 2022
The high school sweethearts were married for an impressive 19 years, despite the Orange County native filing for divorce in 2011 before withdrawing the legal docs in 2013 (pictured in 1999)
On Sunday, the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation ‘gifted adorable onesies and other special gear’ to the newborn patients at the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court inside Hoag Hospital Newport Beach
The NBA honored the iconic baller on his posthumous birthday with a portrait captioned: ‘Remembering Kobe 8.23.78’
The LA Lakers posted two tweets in honor of their 20-year champ, writing: ‘Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.’
![Ex-Laker Pau Gasol tweeted a video of Kobe and wrote: 'As a teammate, as an opponent at times and, more importantly, as a brother, always [unconditional] and eternal love. Happy birthday [brother], miss you'](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/08/23/23/110808035-16074381-image-m-36_1787524840232.jpg)
Ex-Laker Pau Gasol tweeted a video of Kobe and wrote: ‘As a teammate, as an opponent at times and, more importantly, as a brother, always [unconditional] and eternal love. Happy birthday [brother], miss you’
Ex-Laker Caron Butler posted a birthday cake snap of the 6-foot-6 athlete captioned: ‘Happy birthday Bean…’
And retired Laker legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson – who never played with Kobe – tweeted: ‘I want to wish a happy heavenly birthday to Kobe Bryant!’
The LA Lakers posted two tweets in honor of their 20-year champ, writing: ‘Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.’
Ex-Laker Pau Gasol tweeted a video of Kobe and wrote: ‘As a teammate, as an opponent at times and, more importantly, as a brother, always [unconditional] and eternal love. Happy birthday [brother], miss you.’
Ex-Laker Caron Butler posted a birthday cake snap of the 6-foot-6 athlete captioned: ‘Happy birthday Bean…’
And retired Laker legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, who never played with Kobe, tweeted: ‘I want to wish a happy heavenly birthday to Kobe Bryant!’
