Vanessa Bryant shares unseen beer pong memories on Sabrina Ionescu's birthday

By Sahir Bhojwani

Modified Dec 07, 2024 15:27 GMT

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On Friday, Vanessa Bryant, widow of American professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, wished WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu on her 27th birthday via a special message. Ionescu and Bryant have been close friends for years, and the businesswoman, philanthropist and model shared a memorable photo of the two on social media to celebrate the special day.

On Friday, Vanessa Bryant Instagram to wish Ionescu and dropped a class pic of the two playing beer pong at a party. Bryant and Ionescu wore fashionable outfits with a few rows of pink beer cups in front of them. Bryant made sure to add a big and colorful "Happy Birthday" in capital letters along with the snap, and added the following message for her dear friend:

"Happy birthday to my lis sis."

Vanessa Bryant shares unseen beer pong memories on Sabrina Ionescu's birthday. Photo Credit: IG

Bryant also jazzed up the Instagram story by adding background music and chose to go with Beyoncé's track "Party," which features André 3000.

The All-Star guard has been close with the Bryant family since she met Kobe Bryant at a college game and later worked alongside him at the Mamba Academy. At the time, Ionescu was still in college and playing with the Oregon Ducks.

Following the tragic death of Kobe and his daughter, Gigi Bryant, in 2020, Ionescu spoke at their memorial and talked at length about the influence of the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar in shaping her career.

Ionescu is coming off a special WNBA season where she guided the New York Liberty to the franchise's first-ever championship.

Vanessa Bryant was at the 2024 Paris Olympics to celebrate Team USA's gold medal alongside Sabrina Ionescu

United States guard Sabrina Ionescu celebrates with the family of Vanessa Bryant after defeating France at the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. Photo Credit: Imagn

Sabrina Ionescu was a member of the 12-man roster that was selected to represent the U.S.A. at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Led by some of the game's elite players like A'ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Team USA would win a record eighth consecutive gold medal in August.

Following the team's 67–66 win over France in the finals, Ionescu headed to the sidelines to celebrate the historic moment with Vanessa Bryant and her daughters.

Ionescu featured in all six of the USA's games and averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 assists over the competition.