Natalie Bryant and mom Vanessa enjoyed a ski trip together after the Christmas holiday.
Vanessa Bryant and her daughter, Natalia, had some winter fun during a recent post-Christmas ski trip that resulted in the 17-year-old injuring her finger.
On Wednesday, Vanessa posted a video to her Instagram page showing Natalia — the oldest daughter of Vanessa and late NBA star Kobe Bryant — getting treatment for a swollen finger and wrist. The injury seemingly happened while Vanessa, Natalia and her 4-year-old sister, Bianka, were on the ski trip along with singer Ciara.
“Sprained finger and wrist (tbd until swelling goes down),” Vanessa wrote of her daughter’s injury in the caption of the post, which also included footage of the 38-year-old receiving treatment for her back.
« This is payback for making fun of daddy’s fingers. I was waiting for that [Gary Vitti] finger pull so I tried to distract her, » she said, referencing one of Kobe’s past injuries, and Vitti, the Los Angeles Lakers’ former athletic trainer. « Thankfully that wasn’t necessary.”
Kobe was well known for his toughness on the court, and many NBA fans don’t need to be reminded of the emotional moment when he shot two free throws after rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2013.
But one of the last injuries Kobe experienced before his retirement occurred when he dislocated his right middle finger during a game against the San Antonio Spurs in 2016 (which is likely the injury Vanessa is referencing).
Just moments after the dislocation, Vitti popped Kobe’s finger back into place, and the five-time NBA champion went back onto the court to play.
« He’s a tough hombre, » Lakers coach Byron Scott said at the time.
In her Instagram post, Vanessa said the doctor who treated her and Natalia, Dustin Glass, is a close friend of the family. His eldest daughter participated in ballet classes with Natalia, and another one of his children played soccer with Gianna, Kobe and Vanessa’s daughter, who died with her father and seven others in a helicopter crash in January.
« So grateful for good people coming through for us and helping us out when we need them most, » Vanessa wrote. « Thx for checking on my Nani’s pinky finger and cracking my back. »
