Kobe Bryant is undeniably among the most legendary players in the history of the NBA. He spent two decades of his life playing professional basketball while donning a Lakers jersey. Just a year before his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2021, he unfortunately died in a helicopter crash. Michael Jordan presented him at the event, and Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, gave the acceptance speech.
The night was bittersweet, with everyone looking back at his extraordinary journey and the life that he lived. One of the most noticeable things at the event was the absence of his eldest daughter, Natalia Bryant. A few days later, Vanessa took to her Instagram to share a video of Natalia’s high school prom. In a subsequent post, she revealed why she forced Natali to go to the prom instead.
Vanessa spoke about how she missed her prom night, and she did not want Natalia to miss hers. She further explained, “Natalia’s experienced so much loss, I couldn’t let her miss out on her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to her senior prom”. Interestingly, Natalia did not only go to prom once but twice, and she was on the receiving end of backlash for her prom date.
Kobe Bryant didn’t let Vanessa Bryant attend her prom
In her Instagram post, Vanessa revealed that it was because of Kobe Bryant that she wasn’t able to go to her prom. The two married young in 2001 and were engaged at the time of Vanessa’s prom. Additionally, he had his playoff game on the same night and didn’t want Vanessa to go without him. Neither did Vanessa want to go without him.
Happy anniversary Kobe and Vanessa Bryant 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/4Z35qInHSc
— Mamba Insider (@Mamba_Insider) April 18, 2021
Furthermore, Vanessa Bryant revealed what she said to Natalia when they found out that her prom was on the same night as Kobe’s induction. She said to her daughter, “Well if it’s any consolation, daddy kept me from going to my prom, so it’s only right that he tried to keep you from going to yours”. Vanessa reminisced about how they had a good laugh, thinking that Kobe was keeping the boys away even from heaven.
Natalia Bryant wore Kobe Bryant’s Hall of Fame jacket
Even though Natalia Bryant was absent during Kobe Bryant‘s Hall of Fame induction, she flew just in time to accept his jacket and ring. Vannesa placed the jacket on her, and the crowd could not help but say Kobe’s name while being teary-eyed. In the Instagram post, Vanessa ended the caption by thanking Natalia for flying to accept the jacket and then going back home the next morning.
Notably, Natalia was just 17 years old when Kobe died. Sadly, the tragedy happened just a week after her birthday, on January 26, 2020. She is currently a student at the University of Southern California and has also started her modeling career. Natalia has spoken about how she wants to keep on promoting the Mamba Mentality that his father was renowned for.
