Photo: Mathew Imaging/WireImage via Getty Images
<p>On what would&#8217;ve been his 45th trip around the sun, <strong>Vanessa Bryant </strong>is paying tribute to her late husband, <strong>Kobe Bryant</strong>.</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/listicle/vanessa-bryant-gigi-bryant-birthday-tribute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Te Amo Mambacita&#8217;: Vanessa Bryant Pays Tribute To Gigi Bryant On Her Would-Be 17th Birthday (PHOTOS)</a></h5>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Vanessa Bryant Looks Back On Her Time With Kobe</h3>
<p>On Wednesday (Aug. 23), Vanessa, 41, remembered Kobe in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CwSiormRe_p/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&;igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram upload</a>.</p>
<p>The post highlighted various pictures of the couple throughout the years.</p>
<p>Beneath her upload, Vanessa Bryant penned, <strong><em>&#8220;Happy birthday, baby. I love you always &; forever.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p>We should also note that <strong>Mario Lopez</strong>, <strong>Kris Jenner</strong>, <strong>Khloé Kardashian</strong>, <strong>Loni Love</strong>, and the official Lakers IG account — along with many others — showed love in the comment section.</p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Drake Honored The Athlete While Performing In Los Angeles</h3>
<p>While on the subject of Kobe, we should note that Vanessa Bryant isn&#8217;t the only one who recently paid tribute to him.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/23/drake-shouts-out-kobe-bryant-in-emotional-tribute-at-la-concert/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TMZ</a> reports that <strong>Drake</strong> was sure to give the late NBA legend a meaningful shoutout during a show in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (Aug. 22).</p>
<p>Specifically, he encouraged the crowd to &#8220;show love to Kobe&#8221; as he held up the athlete&#8217;s jersey.</p>
<p>In another clip, Drake recounted meeting Kobe with Lil Wayne back when he first moved to Los Angeles, and he said he &#8220;wanted to pay his respects&#8221; to the city that he first called home after leaving his hometown of Toronto.</p>
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<p>While TMZ notes that Drake paid tribute to fellow Lakers icon <strong>LeBron James </strong>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&#8217;ve been Bryant&#8217;s 45th birthday.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We wish Kobe Bryant a happy heavenly birthday and have his loved ones in our thoughts as they honor his memory.</p>
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