Kobe Bryant’s daughter Natalia Bryant’s sweetest Sabrina Ionescu birthday post

Kobe’s oldest daughter carries on the bond dad forged with the now New York Liberty star.

Natalia Bryant arrives at the REVOLVE Festival 2023 celebrating the 20th Anniversary of REVOLVE. / IMAGO / NurPhoto

Natalia Bryant showed some epic birthday love to New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu on her 27th birthday on Friday. The two are close just as Ionescu was to her dad Kobe Bryant and sister Gianna.

They say game recognizes game. The WNBA All-Star Ionescu has the Mamba Mentality in her that Kobe himself helped instill while she was still in college with the Oregon Ducks.

The late Los Angeles Lakers legend would mentor Ionescu on and off the court and she’d help his daughter “Gigi” with her game. Ionescu met Bryant and his daughter in 2019 when they sat courtside at a Oregon-USC game. The following summer Ionescu was working out and learning game from Kobe. She’d fall in love for his enthusiasm and support of women’s basketball.

Team USA guard Sabrina Ionescu (6) hugs Vanessa Bryant after the WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Saturday, July 20, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

RELATED: Vanessa Bryant’s sweet message for daughter’s birthday involving dad Kobe

After Kobe and Gigi’s tragic passing in 2020 in a helicopter crash, Ionescu has remained close to the Bryants. Vanessa even watched her in the WNBA All-Star game (see photo above) and win gold over the summer in the Paris Olympics, where Natalia and her sisters also attended and the family shared heartfelt hugs afterwards.

On her big 2-7, Natalia shared the sweetest picture of the two hugging it out once again.

Sabrina Ionescu/Instagram

She even said “our” in the post, referring to the whole Bryant family.

RELATED: Vanessa Bryant with wacky fit wishes ‘brother’ Russell Wilson happy birthday

Sabrina is also part of Kobe’s Nike family and has serious shoe game herself.

Like Kobe, she can also call herself a champion having just won the WNBA championship — although she has four to go to catch him.

No doubt, Kobe and Gigi would’ve have been there watching her win and have been so proud.

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