Pau Gasol Honors Former Teammate, Friend Kobe Bryant With Newborn's Middle Name
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Basketball star Pau Gasol and his wife, Cat, honored Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his family by naming their first-born daughter Elisabet Gianna Gasol.
Her middle name is in memory of 13-year-old Gianna Bryant, who died along with her father Kobe Bryant and seven others in a January 26 helicopter crash.
"Our little one has finally arrived!! The delivery went really well and we couldn't be happier!! Elisabet Gianna Gasol, a very meaningful name for our super beautiful daughter!! #girldad," Gasol said in a tweet on Sunday.
Bryant and Gasol won two NBA championships together in 2009 and 2010 and they had been close friends.
Gasol used the hashtag 'Girl Dad,' which was popularized after Bryant died to honor his commitment -- and the commitment of other dads -- to raising their daughters.
Kobe Bryant has been honored by several celebrities and long-time friends since he and his daughter, affectionately called Gigi, died in the Calabasas crash.
The other victims were Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan.
Last month, Gasol acknowledged what would have been Bryant's 42nd birthday on August 23 with a tribute on Twitter.
"With tears in my eyes today... I just wish so badly that you were here celebrating your bday with your girls and family," Gasol wrote at the time. "I miss you and Gigi so much brother. I will always be thankful for how much you have impacted my life in so many different ways."
