Four-time Olympic medalist and WNBA superstar Diana Taurasi promised to carry on Gianna Bryant’s legacy, saying the 13-year-old “represents the future of women’s basketball.”
Standing in a packed stadium at Staples Center Monday during the “Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant” service, Taurasi spoke about Gianna’s determination and love for basketball.
“She represents a time where a young girl doesn’t need permission to play. Her skill would command respect,” Taurasi said of the teen basketball player.
Kobe had nicknamed Taurasi the “White Mamba” and she considered him an inspiration.
“Watching Kobe play at the Great Western Forum as a rookie made this little girl believe she could be a Laker one day,” Taurasi said. “He made it okay to play with an edge that borderlined crazy.”
The women’s basketball star commended Kobe’s hard work and sacrifice for the game.
“The same passion we all recognized in Kobe, obviously Gigi inherited, and her skill was undeniable at an early age,” Taurasi said.
Taurasi recalled the look of “fierce determination” that Gianna had the last time she saw her at a game and said Gianna’s goal to play college basketball at the University of Connecticut itself showed her “fearless mentality.”
The university’s women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma also spoke at the memorial, describing the excitement that Gianna showed when she came to visit the team.
Kobe and Gianna Bryant were killed along with seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas last month. They were headed to a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy that the teen was going to play in.
