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Kobe's daughter has a slick jumper just like her dad

By Alex Butler

May 3 (UPI) -- Gianna Bryant has it in her blood to be legendary. She showed off her silky shooting stroke Monday on Kobe Bryant's Instagram.

The footage showed Gianna practicing in her father's home gym, under the shadow of various jerseys and accolades from his sensational NBA career.

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In the video, Gianna dribbles once to her left, turns her back to the basket, pivots on her left foot, and swishes a mid-range jump shot. She follows the made bucket with a subtle nod of the head.

She sports big headphones during the session, similar to the ones worn by NBA players during pregame warmups.

"Happy Birthday to this lil lady," Bryant wrote on Instagram. "My Gigi!! #lilmamba #tesoro #11"

Gianna wore the No. 24 for the shot, the same number Bryant wore during the second half of his notorious career for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant and wife Vanessa have two other daughters, welcoming daughter Bianka in December. Kobe and Vanessa Bryant married in 2001 at a ceremony in Dana Point, Calif.

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Happy Birthday to this lil lady. My Gigi!! #lilmamba #tesoro #11

A post shared by Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) on

"The Black Mamba" retired following the 2015 season. Bryant, 38, was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection, five-time NBA champion, and the 2007 NBA MVP. The future Hall of Fame inductee ranks No. 3 all-time in points scored, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Michael Jordan ranks No. 4 on the list. Among active players, Dirk Nowitzki ranks No. 6 all-time in scoring while LeBron James ranks No. 9 all-time in points.

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During his retirement, Bryant has also taken in interest in youth basketball. He once called the AAU circuit "terrible."

"AAU basketball -- horrible, terrible AAU basketball," Bryant told ESPN in a 2015 interview. "It's stupid. It doesn't teach our kids how to play the game at all, so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don't know how to post. They don't know the fundamentals of the game. It's stupid."

He recently partnered with Nike and the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club to launch the Mamba League.

The Mamba League is a 40-team coed youth hoops division run from February through April in Southern California. Bryant's league has a focus on underserved elementary school students from Nickerson Gardens in Watts, West San Gabriel Valley and Venice.

Bryant explained the league in a video for Nike on April 12.

"The Mamba Leagues is a fun league," Bryant said in the video. "You learn the game and have fun, but also, to understand the connection that the game has with life in general, and convert that into being a better son, a better daughter and a better student."

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