Vanessa Bryant congratulates Lakers on win: 'Wish Kobe and Gianna were here to see this'

Vanessa Bryant congratulated the Los Angeles Lakers after the team won their 17th NBA championship on Sunday night, saying she wished her late husband, Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, and their daughter, Gianna Bryant, could be there to join the celebration.

Kobe and Gianna, 13, were killed in January along with seven others when their helicopter crashed during foggy weather. Kobe won five NBA titles during his 20 years as a Laker, and the team dedicated this season to him. Gianna was also a talented basketball star, and wanted to play at the University of Connecticut.

The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6, with a solid 106-93 win, and in an Instagram story, Vanessa Bryant congratulated the team and general manager Rob Pelinka. "Kobe was right," she said. "'Stay the course — block out the noise.' Wish Kobe and Gianna were here to see this."

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The team honored Kobe Bryant throughout the finals — during Game 5, they wore jerseys he designed, and they shouted his nickname Mamba when breaking huddles, The Guardian reports. After Sunday night's win, Anthony Davis said that Bryant was "a big brother to all of us, and we did this for him."