Vanessa Bryant is honoring her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been a very special, milestone date for the NBA legend.
The Lakers player, who passed away on January 26, 2020, would have been celebrating his 45th birthday this Wednesday, August 23 of 2023.
The basketball star, who was 41 at the time of his death, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, near Los Angeles, California along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers.
In honor of Kobe's birthday, Vanessa took to Instagram to pay tribute to her husband, and shared a slew of candid photos of the two together throughout the years.
The first photo in the carousel is one of Kobe with a smile on his face, tightly embracing his wife as she plants a kiss on his cheek.
Other pics see the couple posing side by side throughout the years, in New York City in the winter, at red carpet events, in Kobe's locker room, and even at the 90th Annual Academy Awards in March 2018, when he won his Oscar for for Best Animated Short Film for his six-minute film Dear Basketball, which he wrote and narrated.
"Happy birthday, baby," Vanessa wrote in her caption, adding: "I love you always & forever," alongside a red heart emoji and the hashtag for Kobe's birth date, "82378."
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The comments section was quickly flooded with messages in Kobe's honor from celebrities and fans alike, with Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian, the latter being a good friend of Vanessa, leaving a string of heart emojis behind, as Zoe Saldaña commented: "Your love is blessed," and comedian Loni Love added: "We love and miss you Kobe!!! V keep being fabulous!!"
More fans of Kobe and Vanessa also wrote: "Sending you so much love today," and: "Thinking about you both today," as well as: "Happy Birthday Kobe. Love these pics of you two," plus another also commented: "True Love FOREVER AND EVER."
Vanessa never fails to honor Kobe's legacy, and last year, she also shared a touching tribute on what would have been his 44th birthday.
"Happy birthday, baby! I love you and miss you so much!" she wrote at the time, alongside the hashtag #44 and a red heart emoji, sharing a photo of them where Kobe is sporting a Lakers t-shirt, the only team he ever played for during his two-decade NBA career, and he is holding on tightly to Vanessa.
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Kobe and Vanessa started dating shortly after they first met in 1999, when he was 21 and she was 17 years old.
They got engaged six months into their romance, and tied the knot in the spring of 2001. Aside from Gianna, they also welcomed daughters Natalia, 20, Bianka, six, and Capri, four.
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