Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa shares touching tribute on what would’ve been his 48th birthday

Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant shared a touching tribute on what would’ve been his 48th birthday on Sunday.The 44-year-old socialite – who boasts 15.2 million Instagram followers – posted a playful snap of the late NBA legend sitting in her lap on a lawn chair captioned: ‘Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much.’Bryant (born Cornejo) received supportive comments from her famous friends including David Beckham, Kris Jenner, Rachel Zoe, Gabrielle Union, Tina Knowles, La La Anthony, Russell Wilson, Kimora Lee Simmons and Michael Phelps.The Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation founder also received a comment, in the form of a red heart emoji, by their eldest daughter Natalia.The 23-year-old took to Instagram stories on Sunday to post a childhood snap of herself beside Kobe, and wrote: ‘Happy birthday Daddy.’The Philly native is also survived by their seven-year-old daughter Capri and nine-year-old daughter Bianka. Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant shared a touching tribute on what would’ve been his 48th birthday on Sunday (pictured July 3) The 44-year-old socialite posted a playful snap of the late NBA legend sitting in her lap on a lawn chair captioned: ‘Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much’Kobe and their daughter Gianna tragically died, age 41 and 13, during a 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.In 2023, Bryant and her girls were awarded a $28.8 million settlement from LA County after winning their two-week invasion of privacy trial in 2022.This, after eight LA County Sheriff deputies had taken cell phone photos of Kobe and the eight other victims at the crash site and shared them with friends, family and strangers at a bar.The high school sweethearts were married for an impressive 19 years, despite the Orange County native filing for divorce in 2011 before withdrawing the legal docs in 2013.The Daily Mail has reached out to Bryant’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.On Sunday, the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation ‘gifted adorable onesies and other special gear’ to the newborn patients at the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court inside Hoag Hospital Newport Beach.Each gift carried the message: ‘May you grow with the belief Kobe and Gianna held dear – that with love, hard work and courage, anything is possible.’And Bryant made sure to make an appearance at the Mamba Invitational, a high school basketball showcase, which was held August 8-9 at L.A. LIVE at Peacock Place.The NBA honored the iconic baller on his posthumous birthday with a portrait captioned: ‘Remembering Kobe 8.23.78.’ Bryant (born Cornejo) received supportive comments from her famous friends including David Beckham, Kris Jenner, Rachel Zoe, Gabrielle Union, Tina Knowles, La La Anthony, Russell Wilson, Kimora Lee Simmons and Michael Phelps The Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation founder also received a comment, in the form of a red heart emoji, by their eldest daughter Natalia The 23-year-old  took to Instagram stories on Sunday to post a childhood snap of herself beside Kobe, and wrote: ‘Happy birthday Daddy’ The Philly native is also survived by their seven-year-old daughter Capri and nine-year-old daughter Bianka (pictured June 20) Kobe and their daughter Gianna tragically died – age 41 and 13 – during a 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas, California (pictured in 2019) In 2023, Bryant and her girls were awarded a $28.8 million settlement from LA County after winning their two-week invasion of privacy trial in 2022  The high school sweethearts were married for an impressive 19 years, despite the Orange County native filing for divorce in 2011 before withdrawing the legal docs in 2013 (pictured in 1999) On Sunday, the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation ‘gifted adorable onesies and other special gear’ to the newborn patients at the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Court inside Hoag Hospital Newport Beach The NBA honored the iconic baller on his posthumous birthday with a portrait captioned: ‘Remembering Kobe 8.23.78’ The LA Lakers posted two tweets in honor of their 20-year champ, writing: ‘Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.’ Ex-Laker Pau Gasol tweeted a video of Kobe and wrote: ‘As a teammate, as an opponent at times and, more importantly, as a brother, always [unconditional] and eternal love. Happy birthday [brother], miss you’ Ex-Laker Caron Butler posted a birthday cake snap of the 6-foot-6 athlete captioned: ‘Happy birthday Bean…’ And retired Laker legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson – who never played with Kobe – tweeted: ‘I want to wish a happy heavenly birthday to Kobe Bryant!’The LA Lakers posted two tweets in honor of their 20-year champ, writing: ‘Leave the game better than you found it. And when it comes time for you to leave, leave a legend.’Ex-Laker Pau Gasol tweeted a video of Kobe and wrote: ‘As a teammate, as an opponent at times and, more importantly, as a brother, always [unconditional] and eternal love. Happy birthday [brother], miss you.’Ex-Laker Caron Butler posted a birthday cake snap of the 6-foot-6 athlete captioned: ‘Happy birthday Bean…’And retired Laker legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, who never played with Kobe, tweeted: ‘I want to wish a happy heavenly birthday to Kobe Bryant!’