Vanessa Bryant said she gave her daughter Natalia Bryant the ‘OK’ to attend her senior prom after learning of a conflicting basketball hall of fame ceremony honoring her dad, Kobe Bryant.
On Sunday, she shared an emotional post to Instagram detailing the moments leading up to her very own prom night 21 years ago with the retired NBA star, People reported.
"Natalia almost missed her senior prom last night," Vanessa wrote with a photo of her and her daughter. "When I was a senior in high school, Kobe and I were engaged and he had a playoff game the night of my prom. Kobe didn't want me going to prom without him and I didn't want to go without him. When we heard Natalia's prom night and Kobe's Hall of Fame night were on the same night, I looked at Natalia and said, 'well if it's any consolation, daddy kept me from going to my prom, so it's only right that he tried to keep you from going to yours."
"Of course we laughed because even in heaven, he's still trying to make moves and keep the boys away. Natalia's experienced so much loss, I couldn't let her miss out on her once in a lifetime opportunity to go to her senior prom. Thank you for flying out to accept daddy's Hall of Fame jacket and fly home the next morning. #HallofFame #SeniorPromNight @nataliabryant,” she continued.
Kobe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday in Springfield, Massachusetts. Vanessa, 39, was there to accept the induction on his behalf, where she delivered a touching speech about the measure of Kobe's extensive career, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"There will never be anyone like Kobe. Kobe was one of a kind,” Vanessa said partway through the speech. “He was special, he was humble off the court but bigger than life. To all of our close friends and family that have been present for my girls and I, thank you. That list is long and it takes a village but know that your kindness and love does not go unappreciated. I know that Kobe is thankful that you're all coming through for his girls. We love you and are forever grateful for you."
The 18-year-old was present at the tip-off celebration and awards gala which was held the night prior. On stage, she accepted her dad’s orange Hall of Fame jacket which was given to her by Vanessa. She then flew home the following morning to prepare for her senior prom, The Real reported.
Vanessa and Natalia shared the same post on Instagram.
On Tuesday, Natalia shared several posts to her Instagram having fun while getting dressed for her prom night.
“Prom!” she wrote with a pink heart in a simple caption.
Another post shows her singing along to a song.
Vanessa is also the mother to daughters, Capri, 22 months, and Bianka, 4. Last year, Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Right now, Vanessa is helping prepare Natalia for her bright future. She was recently accepted into the University of Southern California where she will attend later year, as Blavity previously reported.
