Resurfaced photo of Gianna Bryant shows incredible bond she had with Kobe

Eagle-eyed internet sleuths have highlighted a touching aspect of a photograph of Kobe and Gianna Bryant that will have you crying all over again.

Just when you thought it was safe to put the tissues away comes another example of the unique bond Kobe Bryant shared with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.

A day after the NBA legend and potential future WNBA star were farewelled in an emotional memorial service in Los Angeles, a photograph of the two sharing a laugh while watching a women’s college basketball game in California last December has resurfaced.

The image has been published often in the wake of the pair’s death in a helicopter crash last month, but only now has a heartbreaking bit of detail been spotted.

If you look closely at Gianna’s phone, it shows she kept a picture of her dad planting a kiss on her forehead at a Lakers game taken four weeks earlier.

Kobe and Gianna at a game between Long Beach State and Oregon. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

The photo Gianna kept as her background. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

During her speech at Tuesday’s memorial service, their wife and mother, Vanessa, spoke about how Kobe and Gianna “naturally gravitated towards each other”.

She was “an incredible athlete”. He “loved” being her basketball coach.

“She had Kobe’s ability to listen to a song and have all the lyrics memorised after listening to the song a couple of times; it was their secret talent,” Vanessa said.

“He was thoughtful and always wrote the best love letters and cards, and Gigi had his wonderful ability to express her feelings into paper and make you feel her love through his words. She was thoughtful like him. They were so easy to love. Everybody naturally gravitated towards them,” she added.

“They were funny, happy, silly, and they loved life. They were so full of joy and adventure. God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together.”

Kobe and Gianna walk into Staples Centre during the 2008 NBA Finals. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Kobe and Gianna at home in Newport Beach. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Kobe and Gianna during the 2009 season. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Kobe kisses Gianna after winning an NBA championship in 2009.

Kobe and Gianna Bryant at the US national swimming championships in 2018. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Kobe and Gianna at the 2016 All-Star game. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Gianna and Kobe at a Lakers game last December. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)