NBA legend Kobe Bryant: Mystery behind father-daughter bond
Jasmine Atieno @sparkleMine
When news broke on Sunday that NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna ‘Gigi’ Bryant were among the nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, what popped in many people’s minds wasn’t just his silky jump shot or his five titles.
His undeniable bond with his daughters had touched the innermost spots of fans hearts. During an interview with an American late-night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel live two years ago, Bryant intimated that he wanted his daughter to carry on his legacy.
So important was his relationship with his daughters that he is on record for having said he preferred using helicopters as his mode of transport so that he could make time to spend with them.
“...I ended up missing a school play because I was sitting in traffic. So, I had to figure out a way I can still train and focus on the craft and still not compromise family time... My routine was always the same.
Weights in the morning, take my kids to school, fly down practice like crazy do my extra work, media and do everything I needed to know, fly back to carpool line and pick the kids up.
My wife was like I can pick them up and I was like no, I wanna do that because you have road trips sometimes you do not see your kids because of the travels.
So I get to see them and spend time with them, even if it is 20 minutes in the car I want that” said the father of four girls, Gianna, Bianka, Natalia and Capri.
Fulfilling relationships
Their bond could be seen from the heartwarming moments they spent together, the most recent being a few days before Christmas when they were watching a game with Gianna.
The cameras showed Kobe explaining to Gianna a concept in the game, and she was smiling like there was no place she would rather be.
Kenyan fathers with daughters trooped to social media sending their condolences and sharing their admiration for Bryant’s particular connection with his daughters.
“This is so Saaaaad, I can’t believe it... And it feels weird because I had just started following him on IG yesterday and spent almost 30 minutes going through his family pics and couldn’t help admiring how he raised his Gals.
I wanted to learn a thing or two from him (he is also a babaGalz). Life can be really unfair... rest In Peace Kobe and Gigi (your beautiful daughter)... Still can’t believe it,” said Kenyan artist Nameless in his post.
Every daughter has a father. Whether it is biological, step, or even a stand-in father figure.
Experts say the significance of this role cannot be understated, as it is one she will base every relationship, whether professional, intimate or friendship she has with other males.
Sociologist Fiona Atieno says if a father works on developing a close bond with his daughter and makes it comfortable for her to talk about her feelings, he sets her up for successful and fulfilling relationships in the future.
“When a father does not have a healthy relationship with his daughter or is absent emotionally and or physically, it can do a lot of damage.
It often results in issues of self-esteem, self worth, trust issues, depression, early sexual debut, clinginess in relationships and fear of abandonment,” she explains.
Further a poor father-daughter bond could result in engaging in relationships with older men, which can result in abuse and emotional unavailability. 
Fiona points out that a father is a daughter’s closest guide to love and dating. It’s the father who shows the young girl what respect and love mean.
He shows her how a man can respect other women, especially her mother. The daughter will see and remember everything about how her father communicates with women, whether he succeeds in showing them respect or not.
“I try to be close to my daughter. She is in boarding school, but I visit monthly. I am also the one who brings her to school and picks her up when she closes.
It has created such closeness that she has no issues opening up to me,” Said Msenangu FM, radio host Gasper Tumaini.
Research shows girls who have a close bond with their fathers have a lower risk of developing anxiety or depression and she deals with stress better.
Further studies show that a girl’s relationship with her father shapes her childhood experience and determines her behaviour as an adult.
If a dad doesn’t participate in his daughter’s life or his actions are erratic, it might lead to low self-esteem and trouble with trusting men in general.
Fiona says the kind of father that a girl has impacts so much the future of that child as a young lady and later in life.
