“He asked her to teach the kids defense,” he added, explaining that Kobe said it wasn’t Matt’s strong suit. “They called her the mother of defense.”
Kobe personally selected the 38-year-old defense queen for 13-year-old Gianna’s Mamba Academy basketball team.
“He picked her because she was amazing,” said Matt. “I was so proud of her and she was so happy.”
“She was beautiful, smart, funny,” the grieving husband doted. “She was incredibly deep … just an amazing person.”
Matt said that he and his family have attempted to avoid watching the news that is flooded with stories surrounding the tragedy. However, he noticed a ray of hope and consolation shine through when his daughter said it was “nice to know everyone was hurting along with us,” while watching SportsCenter Sunday night.
“I feel for everybody involved and everybody who is hurting right now,” he empathized. “Because as hard as it is for us, I know it’s hard for everybody else too.”
