Vanessa Bryant Honors Kobe on What Would’ve Been His 44th Birthday

Vanessa Bryant is remembering Kobe Bryant on what would’ve been his 44^th birthday. 

On Aug. 23, Vanessa commemorated his special day by sharing a throwback picture of herself hugging the late Los Angeles Lakers star after his team won the 2009 NBA Championship. 

“Happy birthday, baby!” she captioned the Instagram post. “I love you and miss you so much! #44.”

In the comments section of Vanessa’s post, Kobe received birthday wishes from several stars, including singer Monica, who wrote, “Happy Birthday Kobe,” and supermodel Naomi Campbell, who commented several red heart and cake emojis. 

Former WNBA star Lisa Leslie wrote, “Happy Birthday King Kobe,” while Khloe Kardashian sent her support to Vanessa, writing, “Happy birthday. I love you V!!!”

It’s been more than two years since Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash while traveling to a basketball tournament at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif.