Vanessa Bryant posts illustration of daughter Gianna as a Laker

'Seeing my babygirl smile and happy again with a basketball under her arm, wrapped in loved just warmed my heart', Kobe's grieving widow wrote

Vanessa Bryant has posted a touching tribute on Instagram to her 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, after she was killed in a tragic helicopter crash with her father, the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, and seven others.

The post featured an illustration of the up-and-coming basketball player smiling while donning a Los Angeles Lakers jersey and purple jacket, holding a basketball at her side.

The numbers on her jersey, 24, were used by her father as he played on the NBA team during the 2006-2007 season, and during his years in high school.

Ms Bryant tagged the artist behind the illustration during the weekend and thanked them for creating the image, saying it “just warmed my heart”.

“Seeing my babygirl smile and happy again with a basketball under her arm, wrapped in loved just warmed my heart,” she wrote, adding “My Gigi” and the hashtag #Mambacita, a nickname Mr Bryant gave to their daughter.

The wife of the late NBA player, previously also thanked fans for their “support and love during this horrific time” in a post to her Instagram days after the helicopter crash occurred in Calabasas, California.

Mr Bryant was taking his daughter to her basketball practice along with one of her teammates and multiple families, including a beloved baseball coach and an assistant basketball coach. The pilot, a skilled flight instructor and beloved member of the aviation community, also died in the crash.

“My girls and I want to thank the millions of people who’ve shown support and love during this horrific time. Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them,” she wrote. “We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.”

Ms Bryant added: “We are also devastated for the families who lost their loved ones on Sunday, and we share in their grief intimately.”

“There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now,” she continued. “I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

Ms Bryant also said she was “not sure what our lives hold beyond today” but suggested she was “trying to keep pushing because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigl, are shining on us to light the way.”