On what would’ve been his 45th trip around the sun, Vanessa Bryant is paying tribute to her late husband, Kobe Bryant.
RELATED: ‘Te Amo Mambacita’: Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute To Gigi Bryant On Her Would-Be 17th Birthday (PHOTOS)
Vanessa Bryant Looks Back On Her Time With Kobe
On Wednesday (Aug. 23), Vanessa, 41, remembered Kobe in an Instagram upload.
The post highlighted various pictures of the couple throughout the years.
Beneath her upload, Vanessa Bryant penned, “Happy birthday, baby. I love you always & forever.”
We should also note that Mario Lopez, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, Loni Love, and the official Lakers IG account — along with many others — showed love in the comment section.
Vanessa Bryant wishes Kobe a happy 45th birthday on her IG ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u2jeneVImQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 23, 2023
Drake Honored The Athlete While Performing In Los Angeles
While on the subject of Kobe, we should note that Vanessa Bryant isn’t the only one who recently paid tribute to him.
TMZ reports that Drake was sure to give the late NBA legend a meaningful shoutout during a show in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (Aug. 22).
Specifically, he encouraged the crowd to “show love to Kobe” as he held up the athlete’s jersey.
In another clip, Drake recounted meeting Kobe with Lil Wayne back when he first moved to Los Angeles, and he said he “wanted to pay his respects” to the city that he first called home after leaving his hometown of Toronto.
Drake on stage tonight speaking about the first time he came out to LA and meeting Kobe pic.twitter.com/1lHOenvuwv
— Drake Fan Page (@DrakeDirect_) August 23, 2023
While TMZ notes that Drake paid tribute to fellow Lakers icon LeBron James during another L.A. show the night before, his Kobe message was particularly well-timed, as it came just one day ahead of what would’ve been Bryant’s 45th birthday.
We wish Kobe Bryant a happy heavenly birthday and have his loved ones in our thoughts as they honor his memory.