Kobe Bryant's wife of 17 years melts hearts with Christmas photo of husband & their 3 daughters

Like many other famous families, the Bryants recently released their Christmas photo, and social media users are in love with the adorable image.

Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, took to Instagram with a pic of her family as they wished fans a merry Christmas. The shot was probably taken while the family was on vacation and had all five of them surrounding a boulder on the beach.

While Kobe, Vanessa, and their second daughter, Gianna, sat on the rock, Natalia, the first child, stood to Kobe’s side, held in place by the arm he wrapped around her. The baby of the house, two-year-old Bianka, was balanced in Vanessa’s arms.

“Merry Christmas!!!! Love, The Bryant Family,” she captioned the post.

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS

Fans of the basketball legend and his cute family swarmed the comments section with kind words:

“Beautiful family!!! I’m so happy for you! Wishing you Happy holidays!” ~ @mamatine84

“Sooooo beautiful @vanessabryant your daughters are growing up to be such beautiful women. Merry Christmas mambasitas @kobebryant and @vanessabryant” ~ @flowerbomb_4l

“Daddy's girls!! God's greatest blessing. Feliz Navida.” ~ @missmaria5

STRONGER TOGETHER

Kobe and Vanessa have been married since 2001, and even though their marriage has gone through some challenges, the two have come out stronger.

In 2003, the Black Mamba, as he’s fondly called, was arrested for sexual assault after cheating on his wife with hotel staff, and in 2011, Vanessa filed for a divorce that was called off in 2013, but all these only seem to have brought the couple closer than ever. Now, Kobe is a devoted family man that openly dotes on his clan.

FANS ASK FOR A BOY-CHILD

He opened up two months ago on Jimmy Kimmel Live that some fans ask him when he’s having a boy. The former Lakers player also revealed Natalia’s response to such comments.

"The best thing that happens is we'll go out, and fans will come up to me, and she'll be standing next to me," Kobe, 40, explained. "And they'll be like 'Hey, you gotta have a boy. You and [wife Vanessa] gotta have a boy to carry on tradition, the legacy.' And [Natalia] is like 'Oye, I got this. You don't need a boy for that; I got this.' I'm like, 'That's right, you got this.'"

A THRIVING LEGACY

Besides, folks do not need to worry about Kobe’s legacy. His second child, Gianna, is doing a fantastic job with that.

The 12-year-old is already a maven on the basketball court, and her proud dad doesn’t hesitate to show her off. He even revealed in October that Gianna already has her sights on playing for UConn and not UCLA.

THE BLACK MAMBA IS DONE

Meanwhile, Kobe is happy in retirement and has no plans of returning to basketball. When there were speculations of a Kobe return in July, Vanessa took to social media to shut down the rumors. The Latina beauty stated:

"Kobe will not be coming out of retirement to play again. He doesn't want to play again and frankly we really enjoy spending time together as a family without the crazy game schedule interfering with birthdays, holidays and special events."