Vanessa Bryant On First Anniversary Of Kobe And Gianna's Deaths: 'It Still Doesn't Seem Real'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Vanessa Bryant paid tribute to her late husband Kobe and 13-year-old daughter Gianna on the one-year anniversary of their deaths in a helicopter crash.

Late Monday night, the widow of the Lakers icon took to Instagram to share a letter she received from a friend of Gianna's.

"Today I received this sweet letter from one of Gianna's best friends, Aubrey," Vanessa Bryant wrote. "I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you). Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig. My Gigi is INCREDIBLE and I truly appreciate your thoughtful letter. She loves you so much. I miss my baby girl and Kob-Kob so much, too. I will never understand why/how this tragedy could've happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn't seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!"

On the morning of Jan. 26, 2020, a helicopter carrying Kobe, Gianna and seven others crashed amid heavy fog in Calabasas.

The helicopter was flying from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, bound for Camarillo, with the passengers on board heading to Kobe's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Kobe was set to coach Gianna in a tournament game.

MANILA, Jan. 25, 2021 -- Artists paint a giant mural on the floor of a basketball court in honor of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in Manila, the Philippines on Jan. 25, 2021. The Tenement Visual Artists group made the mural a day before the 1st anniversary of the death of Kobe Bryant and Gianna, who died in a helicopter crash along with seven others in Calabasas of southern California last year. (Photo by Rouelle Umali/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/ROUELLE UMALI via Getty Images)
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