Vanessa Bryant posts new tributes to Kobe on Instagram: 'Miss you so much'

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Vanessa Bryant is remembering her late husband Kobe with new tributes on social media, where she referred to the basketball legend as her “best friend”.

On Wednesday, Bryant shared a smiling photo of the former Lakers player, who died in a helicopter crash along with the couple’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others on 26 January.

“Miss you so much,” Bryant captioned the photo. “Miss you saying: ‘Bonjourno principessa/reina.”

The 37-year-old also included the hashtags #mybestfriend, #thebestdaddy, #handsome, #sweet and #lovinghusband.

Later in the day, Bryant shared a clip compiled of old interviews the NBA star had done with Extra TV, in which he called her his best friend, with a heart caption.

In the clip, the father-of-four shared details about himself, including his first job and his fear of bees.

When asked what nickname his daughters have for him, he said they just call me “Daddy,” and, in response to a question about who he considers his best friend, he responded: “My wife”.

In response to the emotional tribute, Extra TV wrote: “Sending you all our love.”

This is not the first time Bryant has shared tributes to her daughter and husband on Instagram. On 1 February, she posted an illustration imagining Gianna, who was following in her father’s footsteps as a basketball player before she died, as a Los Angeles Laker.

Bryant captioned the photo, which depicts the 13-year-old wearing a jersey with her father’s number, 24, on it: “Seeing my baby girl smile and happy again with a basketball under her arm, wrapped in love just warmed my heart.” She included the hashtag #mambacita, a nickname trademarked for Gianna by her father.

Bryant first addressed the tragedy on social media on 29 January, when she shared a photo of the family and thanked all who had shown “support and love during this horrific time”.

“Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them. We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe - the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna - a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” Bryant wrote, before expressing her devastation over the loss of the other passengers on board.

“There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives,” she continued. “I’m not sure what our lives hold beyond today, and it’s impossible to imagine life without them. But we wake up each day, trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to light the way.”