Mamba & Mambacita Forever

A beautiful and moving testament to the enduring life of Kobe Bryant and the Mamba Mentality.

When Kobe and Gianna Bryant died, tragically and unexpectedly, in 2020, the world mourned with a wholehearted ferocity. In perhaps the largest and most intense outpouring of public art the world has ever seen, murals went up on seemingly every available wall in Los Angeles and around the globe. The paintings were both professional and amateur, some public and some private, many of them colossal. All of them expressed love and respect for Kobe and Gianna Bryant as athletes, as a father and daughter, as heroes who will not be forgotten.

In Mamba & Mambacita Forever, Vanessa Bryant brings together the images and stories of more than a hundred murals honoring her husband and daughter. Taken together, what emerges is the story of a man who became even more than he himself could have imagined, an avatar of determination, discipline, and competitiveness. He was also a worldwide icon, one of the greatest athletes of our time, a man committed to his family and to fatherhood. Kobe was a figure of transformation and hope.

Mamba & Mambacita Forever ensures that the legacy of Kobe and Gianna Bryant will live on even after the most monumental murals themselves have all crumbled.

About the Author

Vanessa Bryant is Founder and Chair of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to creating positive impact for boys and girls in sports through the loving vision and memory of Kobe and Gianna “Gigi” Bryant. The foundation provides sports programming through installing courts, basketball camps, clinics and equipment, and scholarship funding for young people.

She is the mother to four daughters: Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri. Vanessa and Kobe were married for twenty years. Born in Los Angeles, she continues to live with her family in Southern California.