Kobe Bryant Celebration of Life: Sweet Throwback Video of Kobe and Gianna Goes Viral Ahead of Public Memorial

A sweet video clip of Kobe Bryant holding his daughter Gianna Bryant years ago is going viral on the morning of the public memorial at the Staples Center set to honor the father and daughter who died in a helicopter crash in January. The video, which was taken after an NBA championship game, showed Kobe smiling, holding and kissing little Gianna, who wore an adorable Lakers outfit.

“Today is for them and them only,” a Twitter user captioned the video.

The clip quickly gained traction on the social media website. “They were so bonded from the start. God had to keep them together til the end,” one Twitter user replied.

“This one right here gets me every time still heartbroken,” another said.

A public memorial for Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Monday morning starting at 10 a.m. PT. The legendary NBA star is survived by his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and the three other children they shared: Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.

Prior to the public ceremony, a private funeral for Bryant and Gianna was held at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California, on Friday, Feb. 7. The service took place two weeks after they died in a helicopter crash alongside seven others — Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.

Ahead of Monday’s event, Vanessa took to Instagram to explain what 02/24/20 means to her and her family. No. 2 is Gianna’s jersey number, which was retired by her school earlier this month during a ceremony at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar. No. 24 is Bryant’s jersey from the 2006-2007 season until his retirement. And No. 20 is the number of years of Bryant’s career as a Laker and the amount of years he and Vanessa were together.

In addition to Vanessa and her and Bryant’s three other daughters, invited guests will include family and friends of the Bryants, along with players from the Lakers and NBA officials. A number of tickets were also available to the public.

The Lakers note that members of the public without tickets to the Celebration of Life are strongly advised by Staples Center and law enforcement not to come downtown near the venue, as fans without tickets will not be able to access the building or surrounding streets.

Here’s how to watch the live-stream of the celebration of life.