Kobe Bryant met the love of his life, Vanessa, during the making of a music video back in 1999. Six months after dating, they were engaged, and although there was disapproval from Kobe’s parents, the couple got married in 2001 and lived happily for the next 19 years. Tragic news struck the entire world in 2020 when news came out that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and seven others lost their lives in a helicopter accident.

The basketball world came to a halt, and the late legend’s wife held a memorial ceremony in Los Angeles at the Lakers stadium, for one of the greatest and most influential figures in basketball. During the ceremony, the strained relationship between Kobe’s parents and Vanessa was clearly visible.

Bad blood between Kobe Bryant’s wife and parents

The book, The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality, was published two years after his death. Mike Sielski, who went deep into research and had a lot of interviews with people in Kobe Bryant’s past, wrote the book.

One of them was Jeremy Treatman, a former assistant coach of Kobe Bryant during his time at Lower Merion. In the book, many individuals shared their experiences of attending Kobe’s memorial ceremony.

Treatman noticed something really interesting during his time at the ceremony. Vanessa talked about Gigi just as much as she did about Kobe. Vanessa handled the agenda of the day, and during the ceremony, there was no mention of Kobe’s high school days or of his parents.

In the book, his account describes the relationship without having to read between the lines: “The iciness between her and Kobe’s parents was still apparent. From what Treatman saw, they never interacted with or so much as glanced at each other before, during, or after the ceremony.“

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It looks like Vanessa Bryant and Kobe’s parents have still not gotten over their disagreement with each other that began over 19 years ago.

Tension between Kobe Bryant and his parents

Back in 2001, Kobe Bryant told his parents that he was planning on marrying Vanessa. But his parents were opposed to it. They wanted Kobe to marry an African-American woman. But Vanessa was a Latina, so they were against the marriage.

This caused a major rift in the relationship between Kobe and his parents. In the 2001 NBA finals, the Lakers went up against the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia was Kobe Bryant’s hometown, and his parents lived there. But they did not show up for any of his games during the NBA finals, as they were not speaking to him at the time. This led to the iconic image of Kobe sitting in the shower with the championship trophy and looking sad.

What do you think of the situation between Vanessa Bryant and Kobe Bryant’s parents? Let us know in the comments!