Pau Gasol names his firstborn daughter after Gianna Bryant. He felt this was the only way to have Kobe Bryant and his daughter present in their lives forever
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There were very few people in the league Kobe Bryant considered friends in his 20-year career in the NBA. Long-time teammate Pau Gasol was one of them. The two played together for 7 years and won 2 championships being the best players on the team.
The 5x champion had a famous saying, “friends hang sometimes, banners hang forever”. Clearly, Mamba was not there to make friends, however, Pau Gasol managed to bring his guards down and ended up having a close bond with Kobe Bryant.
After the tragic helicopter crash, the Gasol family moved to orange county to live close to Vanessa and the kids. This just goes to show how close Bryant and Pau were. The latter considered Kobe as an older brother and he is there for his daughters as Uncle Pau.
Pau Gasol plans to be there for Vanessa Bryant and the kids through thick and thin
The 2x NBA champion has been there for the Bryant family ever since Kobe’s death. Spending time with the Mamba’a daughters, teaching them basketball, sailing with them he truly sees them as his nieces.
Last year Pau Gasol named his firstborn daughter Elisabet Gianna. He felt it was the best way to have Gianna Bryant present in their lives. In a recent interview, Gasol spoke about his documentary ‘Pau Gasol: It’s About the Journey” and briefly reflected on life after Kobe’s death.
“I think it was a way to have him and her presence in our lives forever. It was just probably, for us, the biggest way that we could actually honor him and her into our lives, and now, having Vanessa as the godmother of our baby Ellie Gianna, that’s life.
We’re a family. And we love each other. We’re gonna be there all the way. … We’re gonna be here always, through the good times and the bad times.”
The Gasol family had a hard time choosing the first name because they knew the instant their daughter was born her middle name would honor Gianna Bryant.
