After the tragic death of NBA star Kobe Bryant, many people came forward to support Kobe's family, but no one accompanied his children for birthdays, vacationed with his family, and regularly gave special gifts to Vanessa, like Kobe's good brother, Pau Gasol. That's why Vanessa also gave Gasol her full support at a very important time in his life, cheering on the two-time NBA champion and six-time NBA All-Star.
According to the US media "Hollywood Life" reported on March 8, on March 7, the Los Angeles Lakers retired Gasol's No. 16 jersey, and Kobe's widow Vanessa also came to the scene to pay tribute to her late husband's friends and teammates. And this is also the first time Vanessa has returned to the Lakers Arena since the ceremony to commemorate Kobe, which makes fans very excited.
That night, the Lakers hosted a jersey retirement ceremony for Gasol after a 112-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, making him the 12th basketball player in the team's history to retire a jersey.
In addition to thanking fans for recognizing him, Gasol also thanked his late friend and teammate Bryant. Gasol said he couldn't go on without Bryant, who was a vital part of his career and hopes to share the moment not only with Bryant, but also with his late daughter Kiki.
Gasol joined the Lakers in February 2008 and helped the team win back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. He was the second Spanish player in the NBA at the time and the first Spanish player to win a championship.
And now, Gasol's jerseys hang alongside the jerseys of famous Lakers players like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal.
And in order to support her late husband's good brother, Vanessa specially dressed up. She looks radiant in a black off-the-shoulder dress with a heart-shaped neckline, a beautiful pearl necklace and two large shiny diamond rings.
I have to say that 40-year-old single mother Vanessa has really become more and more beautiful since she lost weight successfully. She also played a recording of Kobe Bryant's 2018 Oscars on stage, in which the late basketball star spoke highly of his friend Gasol.
In an interview with ESPN, Bryant said, "Gasol, when he retires, his number will be next to me. "The truth is, I couldn't have won the championship without Gasol. Without Paul, Los Angeles would not have won these two championships. Everyone knows this. "I'm really looking forward to the day when he'll be standing on Centre Court and speaking to all the fans who have supported him over the years." It will be a great evening. ”
After listening to Kobe's audio, Gasol was so emotional that he took the microphone and said to Vanessa, "I love you, sister," "I am proud to be your brother, and I am proud to be the uncle of your lovely daughters."
Gasol also said he missed Bryant terribly, like many people, saying, "It was my brother who inspired me, challenged me, inspired me to be a better player," and "I love him." I wish he was with Kiki. I'm sure he'll be proud of me. He was looking forward to this moment. ”
Earlier this month, Vanessa just reached a $28.5 million (about 199.5 million yuan) settlement agreement with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Previously, Vanessa sued the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office, accusing them of leaking photos of the 2020 death of Kobe and Kiki and causing her severe mental distress.
It is alleged that no less than eight sheriff's deputies at the time took photographs of the deceased children, parents and coaches at the scene of the accident.
Source: Hollywoodlife, Bing