Natalia Bryant leads touching tribute to Kobe Bryant and Gigi at Lakers night

Natalia Bryant, daughter of the late Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, paid homage to her father and sister, Gigi Bryant at Dodger Stadium on Lakers Night.

Alongside her mother Vanessa and sisters Bianka and Capri, Natalia celebrated the enduring legacies of Kobe and Gigi.

Wearing a white Dodger jersey adorned with Kobe's iconic No. 8 on the front and No. 24 on the back, Natalia took center stage as she stood on the pitching mound to deliver the ceremonial first pitch. 

Her pitch was expertly caught by Dodger star Mookie Betts, who himself sported a Kobe Lakers jersey over his Dodger uniform.

A particularly heartwarming moment followed Natalia's pitch when 6-year-old Bianka was handed the microphone and asked to utter the famous phrase once voiced by the late Vin Scully before the start of every Dodger game, "It's time for Dodger baseball!"

Notably, the Bryants were not the only ones donning Kobe jerseys on the field; the entire Dodgers squad also proudly wore Kobe jerseys while watching Natalia's touching tribute. 

Following the ceremonial pitch, the Dodgers presented the Bryant family with a generous 100,000 million donation to the Mambacita Sports Foundation.

In a poignant display after the game, the Dodgers featured their final drone show of the season, paying tribute to Kobe with a stunning rendering of his speech following his final game in April 2016. 

This gesture was a heartfelt tribute to Kobe, Gigi, and the seven other individuals who tragically lost their lives in a helicopter crash in January 2020. 

On August 24, known as Kobe Day, Vanessa Bryant announced the Lakers' plans to erect a statue outside their home arena in Kobe's memory. 

The statue, scheduled to be unveiled on February 8, 2024, commemorates Gigi's jersey number (2) and Kobe's iconic NBA jersey numbers (8 and 24).

This announcement coincided with what would have been Kobe's 45th birthday, a day Vanessa lovingly celebrated in his memory.