Kobe Bryant and Vanessa Bryant‘s daughters made a surprise appearance on TikTok Saturday, co-starring in a clip with New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu. Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 1, all joined Ionescu in a dance to Sean Paul’s “Temperature.” The video begins with the quartet clapping along to the song before taking out salt shakers. “Salt shakin saturdayzzzz with my girlz,” Ionescu, 22, wrote in the caption for the video.
Ionescu is a former player for the Oregon Ducks and was mentored by Bryant. She was among the speakers at the February Celebration of Life for the Los Angeles Lakers star and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Bryant and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in January, alongside seven others. Bryant was 41. “I wanted to be just like him, to love every part of the competition, to be the first to show up and the last to leave, to love the grind, to be your best when you don’t feel your best and make other people around you the best version of themselves,” Ionescu said in her speech.
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@sabrina_ionescu20 Salt shakin saturdayzzzz with my girlz
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Since Bryant’s death, Ionescu has maintained a strong relationship with the Bryant family. In June, she shared an adorable TikTok video with Natalia and Bianka, with the three dancing together. Vanessa shared the video on her own Instagram Story, adding the caption, “Another B.B. special!” When Natalia shared it, she wrote, “Bianka LITERALLY steals the show every time.”
Bryant would have celebrated his 42nd birthday next month. Vanessa marked the occasion with a heartbreaking Instagram post, in which she noted that her life “feels so empty” with Bryant and Gianna. “I’ve been completely broken inside,” Vanessa wrote. “As much as I want to cry, I put a smile on my face to make our daughters’ days shine a little brighter. I’m not the strong one, they are. They’re strong and resilient. I’m sure you’re proud of them. They put a smile on my face every day.”
Meanwhile, Bryant’s former teammate Pau Gasol found the perfect way to keep Bryant and Gianna’s memories alive. Gasol and his wife, Catherine McDonnell, named their newborn daughter Elisabet Gianna. Gasol called it “a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter” on Instagram. “So touched,” Vanessa commented on the photos the Gasols shared. Gasol and Bryant played together from 2008 to 2014, winning two NBA Finals titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning five championships and having both his 8 and 24 numbers retired.
