The WNBA pays tribute to the lives of Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant and Payton Chester by selecting them as honorary draftees in the #WNBADraft 2020. pic.twitter.com/AqpZnc4xfo
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 17, 2020
Honorary jerseys were shown on the screen with the 13-year-old girls' last names on them, ESPN reported. They were passengers on a helicopter that crashed as it traveled to a basketball game at Kobe Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy on Jan. 26.
“They represented the next generation of stars in our league,” Engelbert said, “what might have been called as the Mambacita generation.”
Gianna Bryant had hoped to play basketball at the University of Connecticut, while Altobelli and Chester rooted for Oregon, the Times reported.
Albotelli’s brother released a prerecorded message, wearing a green Oregon sweatshirt, saying he was certain his younger sister would have become a Duck and then gone on to a WNBA career, the newspaper reported.
Vanessa Bryant, wearing an orange WNBA hoodie that belonged to her husband, recorded a message, saying being drafted into the WNBA "would have been a dream come true for (Gianna)."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 17, 2020
“She wanted to be one of the greatest athletes of all time,” Vanessa Bryant said. "Just like her daddy.”
Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu was chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by the New York Liberty on Friday night, ESPN reported. She was friends with the Bryant family and spoke at the memorial service for Kobe and Gianna.
"I think it was a very beautiful thing that the WNBA did to be able to draft those three girls,'' Ionescu said. "They deserved it. I know they’re looking down and smiling and really excited.''
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