Update (February 11, 2020): A private funeral and burial for Kobe Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, took place on Friday, Entertainment Tonight reports.

 The death of the retired Los Angeles Laker, along with eight others, sent somber waves throughout the country. The January 26 helicopter crash in California is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, but preliminary reports have excluded the possibility of engine failure, as Blavity previously reported.

“The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it’s still hard for them to grasp they lost two beautiful souls,” a source told Entertainment Tonight. 

The funeral took place in Corona Del Mar, about two hours south of Calabasas where the helicopter crash occurred.

A public memorial and celebration of life for the NBA legend and his daughter will take place on February 24 at the Staples Center. Vanessa Bryant posted an invitation to the public memorial laced with gold and purple butterflies.

In her caption, she reminded the world of the significance of the date. 

“#2, #24, #20 years as a Laker and the amount of years Kobe and I were together,” she wrote.

 

In another Instagram post, Vanessa explains how the grieving process has been for her, as Blavity previously reported. 

“Mad I’m not with Kobe and Gigi but thankful I’m here with Natalia, Bianka and Capri,” Vanessa said. “I know what I’m feeling is normal. It’s part of the grieving process. I just wanted to share in case there’s anyone out there that’s experienced a loss like this.”

Original (February 7, 2020): A memorial service to honor Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant and the seven others who lost their lives in a helicopter crash will symbolically be held on February 24 at Staples Center.

The city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers all came together to finalize the date as the Clippers have a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at the arena on the same day, reports ESPN. The Los Angeles Times notes the date of the service is significant as it is being held in the second number of the year given Gianna's basketball jersey number was the number two and Kobe's was 24. 

After learning of Kobe’s passing, fans flocked to Staples Center, where the basketball star spent his 20-season career playing for the Lakers, to honor him. Paintings, stuffed animals, handwritten letters and over 1,300 basketballs were among the mementos left in remembrance and celebration.

While cleanup of the fan-made memorial began on Monday, Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, requested the items left outside be sent to her and her family, reports KTLA.

"It will have been a week," Staples Center President Lee Zeidman said. "We have contractually obligated events that are moving in (to the arena). Vanessa had reached out to us and said, 'Our family would like the items out there.' So we're going to catalog every one of them. By that I mean T-shirts, letters, basketballs, stuffed animals, toys. We're going to put those in specially made containers and we're going to ship them to the family."

A 40-yard trash bin has been filled with the flowers left by those mourning. They will be composted and used as mulch to be spread throughout the landscaping surrounding the stadium.

While the NBA has been hard at work honoring Kobe and Gianna, Gianna’s school held a ceremony on Wednesday and retired her jersey.

Vanessa posted photos and videos to her Instagram of the ceremony in which Gianna's teammates can be seen becoming emotional.

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Jersey Retirement

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“Gianna was a warrior who gave 110% every time she stepped on the floor. She had that mamba mentality,” her coach said.

The 13-year-old was nicknamed “Mambacita,” mirroring her father’s basketball alter ego.

Gianna-BryantKobe-bryantStaples CenterVanessa Bryant