Photos of Kobe Bryant coaching his daughter Gianna’s basketball team the day before the two died in a helicopter crash showed the Lakers legend in full mentor mode.
The pics feature Bryant instructing his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and Lady Mamba Mavericks teammates at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California. (Click through on the arrows of the Instagram post to see all the images.)
The color and black-and-white photos, posted by Chris Costello, aka slowmotion00, were taken as the Mavericks played in two tournament games, the New York Post reported. Bryant’s gym was where he and Gianna were headed on Sunday when a helicopter they were riding crashed in Calabasas, killing all nine aboard.
The hoodie-wearing Bryant can be seen huddling with team members and talking to Gianna and another player during a timeout. The gallery includes action shots of Gianna as well.
One spectator said Bryant “had really good energy with his daughter” and was “just teaching a lot and took a few extra timeouts to explain things to the kids,” the Post reported.