Vanessa Bryant Returns To Lakers Arena For 1st Time Since Kobe Memorial To Support Pau Gasol At Jersey Retirement

The Los Angeles Lakers retired Pau Gasol‘s No. 16 jersey connected Tuesday (Mar. 7), and Vanessa Bryant was connected manus to enactment the two-time NBA champion and six-time NBA All-Star. Vanessa, 40, walked onto the tribunal of the Crypto.com arena, marking her archetypal clip backmost astatine the Lakers’ location stadium since the 2020 memorial to her husband, Kobe Bryant, and their daughter, Gianna Bryant. For the event, Vanessa wore a achromatic off-the-shoulder gown, her hairsbreadth flowing escaped arsenic she watched Pau go the 12th Laker successful the team’s past to person his jersey retired.

(London Entertainment / SplashNews.com)

Vanessa opened the ceremonial by playing a 2018 signaling of Kobe astatine the Academy Awards, successful which the precocious hoops prima spoke highly astir his friend. “Pau, erstwhile helium retires, helium volition person his fig successful the rafters adjacent to mine,” said Kobe, per ESPN. “The world is, I don’t triumph those championships without Pau. The metropolis of L.A. doesn’t person those 2 championships without Pau. We cognize that. Everybody knows that. And I truly look guardant to the time erstwhile he’s determination giving his code astatine halfway tribunal successful beforehand of each the fans who person supported him implicit the years. And so, it’s going to beryllium an awesome night.”

“I emotion you, sister,” Pau said to Vanessa aft helium took the microphone. “I’m arrogant to beryllium your brother. I’m arrogant to beryllium an uncle to your beauteous girls.” He past got affectional erstwhile speaking astir Kobe. ” “I can’t spell connected without talking astir the idiosyncratic and the look that I don’t see,” said Pau. “The member that elevated maine challenged me, inspired maine to beryllium a amended player. Just to beryllium a amended antheral overall. … I miss him. I miss him truthful much, similar galore of america do,” Gasol said. “I emotion him. I privation helium was present with Gigi. I truly do. But I deliberation he’ll beryllium proud. And helium was looking guardant to this moment. So, I emotion you, brother.”

London Entertainment / SplashNews.com

Pau joined the Lakers successful February 2008 and helped the squad triumph back-to-back championships successful 2009 and 2010. He was lone the 2nd Spanish subordinate successful the NBA past and the archetypal to triumph a championship. His jersey volition present bent alongside those belonging to celebrated lakers similar Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal.

At the commencement of March, Vanessa reached a $28.5 cardinal settlement with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Vanessa sued the LA Sheriff’s office, alleging that archetypal responders caused “severe affectional distress” by taking photos of Kobe and Gigi’s dormant bodies pursuing the 2020 chopper clang that killed them and 7 others. Fearing that the images would beryllium leaked online, Vanessa sought to “hold accountable those who engaged successful this grotesque conduct,” her lawyer said pursuing the settlement. The colony magnitude includes the $15 million she won successful her invasion-of-privacy case.

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