Replacing one legend with another, BryantвЂ™s former teammate Shaquille OвЂ™Neal towered over the lectern after Jordan. Michael Jordan jokes about the Crying Jordan meme /9KpSdSg3qg And though the two shared the floor just eight times, Jordan made it clear on Monday that he and Kobe shared much more.ДЄ вЂњbig brotherвЂќ, Michael Jordan called himself in relationship to Kobe, as tears rolled down his cheeks.Д®liciting laughter and applause from those in the Staples Center, including Vanessa Bryant, Jordan wiped his tears and joked about what Kobe Bryant вЂњdoes to (him)вЂќ. And from 1996-2003, the two basketball legends shared the league. 23 and 34 remember 24Д«efore there was Kobe, there was Michael Jordan. Vanessa stood at the lectern for seven minutes before delivering a heartbreaking farewell. Gripping a balled-up tissue in her right hand and holding creased pieces of paper with her left, Vanessa cadenced through the eulogies, catching the occasional tear with her fingertips. Vanessa praised her late-husband for being the вЂњMVP of girl dadsвЂќ before moving on to remember her daughter Gianna, who she said would go on to become the best player in the WNBA. And she did so with grace and strength that could only come from someone with KobeвЂ™s вЂњMamba MentalityвЂќ. After being married to Kobe since 2000 and bearing four of his children, Vanessa Bryant was just 30 days removed from being widowed when she eulogized her husband and daughter for the entire world to see. PT, Vanessa Bryant was introduced as she made her way to the lectern. Nearly 20,000 people packed into the Home of the Lakers to bid Kobe and Gianna farewell. On Monday, the Staples Center hosted a public memorial service to honor the late-great and his daughter. 26, Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others tragically died after their helicopter crashed into a mountainside in Los Angeles. Though, it wasnвЂ™t until 31 days ago that вЂњlateвЂќ was one of them. 33,643 roses, to be exact - one for each point the late Kobe Bryant scored in his 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers.ДЄ lot have words have prefaced BryantвЂ™s name in the past. On Monday morning, the Staples Center housed more roses than it did people.

Kobe and gigi