Vanessa Bryant Shares Heartfelt Post For Late Husband Kobe Bryant on 19th Wedding Anniversary: ‘I Wish You Were Here’

Vanessa Bryant celebrated the bittersweet milestone of her 19th wedding anniversary with late husband Kobe Bryant with a touching Instagram post. Vanessa penned a beautiful message along with a romantic throwback picture of the couple on Saturday to express her love for the NBA legend Kobe who lost his life earlier this year in a tragic helicopter crash.

In the post, Vanessa described her husband Kobe as ‘my king and my best friend’. In the picture, Vanessa is flaunting a wide smile and is joyous as she places one hand on Kobe’s head, clearly pleased to be in her hubby’s arms. “My king, my heart, my best friend. Happy 19th wedding anniversary. I miss you so much. I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you,” she wrote, posting a picture of the couple.

Five-time NBA champion Bryant and the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles on January 26.

Kobe was a fierce advocate for women’s basketball. He loomed large over the Women’s NBA draft on Friday when commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the new Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist also was an Academy Award winner in 2018, and this past weekend was announced as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 in his first year of eligibility.

Bryant represented LA Lakers for 20 seasons. He was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2007-08, a 15-time All-NBA selection, 18-time All-Star and 12-time All-Defensive team member. He twice was named MVP of the NBA Finals and was the All-Star Game MVP four times.