Kobe Bryant filed trademark for Gianna's nickname 'Mambacita' weeks before death

Nickname was variation of NBA star's own nickname 'Black Mamba'

Kobe Bryant filed a trademark for his daughter Gianna’s nickname “Mambacita” just weeks before the pair died in a helicopter crash.

On 30 December 2019, the basketball legend submitted a trademark request that would allow the nickname to be used on a variety of sportswear, including shirts, jerseys and hats, according to documents first obtained by TMZ.

The move was reportedly in anticipation of the 13-year-old’s blossoming basketball career - as well as a tribute to Bryant’s own career nickname, Black Mamba.

In addition to the trademark filing, the father-of-four, who died at the age of 41 on Sunday, had also begun using the nickname to refer to his daughter - also known as Gigi - on social media.

“Gigi getting better every day,” the basketball legend captioned an Instagram video of his daughter playing basketball on 14 January, including the hashtags #teammamba and #mambacita.

In November 2019, the former Lakers player had shared a video of Gianna and her fellow teammate Alyssa Altobelli, who played at Bryant’s Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California.

“I hate seeing my #teammamba girls play against each other,” Bryant wrote. “This is GREAT defence of our mamba pg Alyssa Altobelli and a familiar looking fade by our second gd the #mambacita”.

Alyssa and her parents Keri and John Altobelli were among the victims of the helicopter crash.

Prior to Bryant’s death, he had coached Gianna’s basketball team and praised her love of the sport.

“What I love about Gigi is her curiosity about the game,” the NBA star had previously told the Los Angeles Times. “She’s very curious. Even in a heated situation in a game where it’s going back and forth, she can detach herself and come to me and ask a very specific question, which is not common. She’ll come over and say: ‘OK, on this particular trap when I’m trying to close the gap but she’s getting on the outside, do I need to change my angle?’ It’s a very specific question. That’s pretty damn cool.”

Bryant's helicopter was travelling to a practise at Mamba Academy when it crashed, killing all nine people on board.