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On Jan. 26, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant died in a helicopter accident along with seven others. Days after the tragic accident, Bryant is still inspiring people. After an emotional tribute by ESPN’s Elle Duncan, people are remembering Bryant’s love for his daughters.

Kobe Bryant daughters
Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant | Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

ESPN’s Elle Duncan shared a story about Kobe Bryant

On ESPN, Duncan shared a personal anecdote about Bryant after his death. In her story, Duncan detailed how Bryant offered her parenting advice during their first and only meeting. Bryant also told her how much he loved being a parent to daughters.

It’s likely that you’re hearing many personal anecdotes about Kobe Bryant, so here’s mine. I met Kobe one time, backstage at an event for ESPN in New York. And I saw him, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. That’s Kobe. I gotta get a picture for the ‘Gram. … I didn’t get it for a few minutes, because, as I approached him, he immediately commented on my rather large eight-month pregnant belly. ‘How are you? How close are you? What are you having?’ ‘A girl,’ I said, and he then high-fived me. ‘Girls are the best.’
“I asked him advice on raising girls, as he quite famously had three at the time. He said, ‘just be grateful that you’ve been given that gift because girls are amazing.’ His third daughter, Bianka, was about a year-and-a-half old at the time, so I asked if he wanted more children. He said that his wife Vanessa really wanted to try again for a boy, but was sort of jokingly concerned that it would be another girl. And I was like, ‘four girls, are you joking? What would you think? How would you feel?’
Without hesitation, he said ‘I would have five more girls if I could. I’m a girl dad.’
When it came to sports, he said that his oldest daughter was an accomplished volleyball player, and that the youngest was a toddler, so TBD. But that middle one, he said that middle one was ‘a monster, she’s a beast. She’s better than I was at her age. She’s got it.’ That middle one of course was GiGi. When I reflect on this tragedy, and that half hour I spent with Kobe Bryant two years ago, I suppose that the only small source of comfort for me is knowing he died doing what he loved the most: being a dad. Being a girl dad.”

Kobe Bryant also shared his love for his daughters on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

In 2019, Bryant appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! On the show, Bryant talked about his love for raising his daughters. Bryant had four daughters with his wife Vanessa, with the oldest being 17 years old and the youngest being under a year old.

“Four daughters now,” Kimmel said to Bryant. “I think it’s good that you have daughters. I feel like if you had a son in sports it might be too much for that kid.”

“Maybe,” Bryant said. “But you know, I love having girls. Like I love it. They’re awesome.”

People have been inspired to share their ‘girl dad’ stories

After Duncan’s tribute for Bryant, #girldad trended on Twitter as fans and celebrities shared their own stories about being a parent to daughters. Some fans shared photos of their daughters, while others wrote posts dedicated to Bryant.

“The last time I remember John crying, aside from this week, was when Luna wrapped her little finger around his at the hospital when she was born. There really is something magical about girls and their dads. Thank you, @elleduncanESPN,” Chrissy Teigen tweeted.

“I’m so proud and lucky to be a #GirlDad,” Alex Rodriguez tweeted.

“By the grace of God and the beautiful gift of adoption I am a #GirlDad. Kobe was such a great example… I can’t wait to try and follow in his footsteps #MambaDad,” Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams tweeted.

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