Kobe Bryant beams in never-before-seen birthday snap shared by his sister with heartfelt message: "You are missed"

Late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, born on August 23, would have turned 47 on Saturday. His elder sister, Sharia Washington, marked the occasion with a heartfelt message accompanied by never-before-seen birthday photos, capturing Kobe smiling brightly.

She made a four-slide post on Instagram, featuring images of Kobe through the years and captioned it with an emotional note.

" You are loved. You are missed. Happy 47th birthday Bean! #47#1of1#belegendary," Sharia Washington captioned the post.

Sharia's caption also featured a memorable quote from the former NBA champion.

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"You are responsible for how people remember you, or don’t. So don’t take it lightly," the quote read.

The post featured never-before-seen images of Kobe, with the first two slides consisting of a baby picture and of him as a child, where he appeared beaming with a wide smile. The following image featured Bryant alongside his sister as they shared a hug, while the fourth picture showed Kobe blowing out the candles on his cake.

Washington's post was a fitting tribute to her little brother, who gave countless memories to fans worldwide. The comments section quickly filled with heartfelt messages as people from near and far offered their respects to the Lakers legend.

"Happy birthday to my idol we love n miss u Kobe long live the goat 🐐 💜💛," a fan wrote.

"Happy Heavenly Birthday! Legends never die 🐐," another added.

Fans wish Kobe Bryant on his sister's post (Source: Instagram/Sharia)

Despite his tragic passing five years ago, Bryant continues to be an illuminating figure worldwide.

Kobe Bryant's wife shows love to daughter by modeling unreleased Kobe set for his birthday release

Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa Bryant, showed love to her daughter, Natalia, for modeling a pair of unreleased Kobe 3 Protro on Tuesday. The shoes are set to release on his birthday, a tradition that Nike has taken up since his unfortunate death in 2020.

Vanessa showed love to Natalia on Instagram, sharing images from her photoshoot with the new sneakers.

"@nataliabryant 🤍," Vanessa wrote.

The Kobe 3s remain the only sneakers yet to receive a Protro edition, but that changes this year. Called the "Halo," the pair keeps its meshed design while featuring an angelic white finish true to its name, and will release on Saturday.

Natalia debuted the sneakers through a commercial, which included Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by nagpaltusharn25