Kobe Bryant's widow delivers touching speech at the memorial for he and their daughter Gigi

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant has given a touching speech at the Staples Center in Los Angeles where his memorial and that of his daughter is taking place.

Below is her full speech.

"First I'd like to thank everyone for coming today. The outpouring of love and support that my family has felt from around the world has been so uplifting. Thank you so much for all your prayers. I'd like to talk about both Kobe and Gigi, but I'll start with my baby girl first.

"My baby girl. Gianna Bryant is an amazingly sweet and gentle soul. She was very thoughtful and always kissed me good night and kissed me good morning. There were a few occasions where I was absolutely tired from being up with Bianka and Capri, and i thought she had left to school without saying goodbye. I text and say, "No kiss?" And Gianna would reply with, "Mama, I kissed you. You were asleep and I didn't want to wake you." She knew how much her morning and evening kisses meant to me, and she was so thoughtful to remember to kiss me every day. She was daddy's girl, but I know she loved her mama, and she would always show me and tell me that she loved me. She was one of my very best friends.

"She loved to bake. She loved putting a smile on everyone's face. Last August she made a beautiful birthday cake for her daddy, and it had fondant and looked like it had blue agate crystals. Kobe's birthday cake looked like it was professionally decorated. She made the best chocolate chip cookies. She loved watching cooking shows and "Cupcake Wars" with me, and she loved watching "Survivor" and "NBA on TNT" with her daddy. She also loved watching Disney movies with her sisters.

"Gigi was very competitive like her daddy, but she had a sweet grace about her. Her smile was like sunshine. Her smile took up her entire face, like mine. Kobe always said she was me. She had my fire, my personality and sarcasm, and she was tender and loving on the inside. She had the best laugh. It was infectious. It was pure and genuine.

"Kobe and Gianna naturally gravitated towards each other. She had Kobe's ability to listen to a song and have all the lyrics memorized after listening to the song a couple of times; it was their secret talent.

"She was an incredible athlete. She was great at gymnastics, soccer, softball, dance, and basketball. She was an incredible dancer, too. She loved to swim, dance, do cartwheels and do jumps into our swimming pool. Gigi loved her TikTok dances.

"Gigi was confident but not in an arrogant way. She loved helping and teaching other people things. At school she offered the boy's basketball coaches to help give the boys' basketball team some pointers, like the triangle offense. She was very much like her daddy and they both liked helping people learn new things and master them. They were great teachers.

"Gigi was very sweet. She always made sure everybody was okay and she was our shepherd. She always kept our family together. She loved family traditions, and family movie night was important to her. She always looked out for everyone. She was very much in tune with our feelings and wanted the best for us.

"Gianna was smart, She knew how to read, speak and write Mandarin, she knew Spanish and had great grades and kept them up all while becoming a great basketball player. She was president of school spirit, on student council. She was director's assistant for her school play just like her big sister. She was looking forward to graduating eighth grade and moving on to high school with her big sister, Natalia. I am so happy she was given the opportunity to know that she was accepted to the same high school. She was really happy.

"Gianna made us all proud and she still does. Gianna never tried to conform. She was always herself. She was a nice person, a leader, a teacher, wearing a white tee, black leggings, a denim jacket, white high top Converse and a flannel tied around her waist, and straight hair was her go-to style. She had rhythm and swag since she was a baby. She gave the best hugs and the best kisses. She had gorgeous, soft lips like her daddy. She would hug me and hold me so tight, I could feel her love me, and I loved the way she looked up at me, it was as if she was soaking me all in. We love each other so much. I miss her so much.

"She was so energetic. I couldn't keep up with her energy. She lapped Natalia and I on track once. She was about six years old. We let her have a head start and she still dusted us. I miss her sweet kisses and cleverness, and I miss her sarcasm and her wit, and that adorable sly side smile followed with a grin and a burst of laughter. We shared the same "cat that ate the canary" grin. Gigi was sunshine. She brightened up my day every day. I miss looking at her beautiful face".