WATCH | Vanessa Bryant's touching tribute to daughter Gigi & husband Kobe

Vanessa Bryant's touching tribute to her husband and daughter, Kobe and Gigi Bryant, shook thousands who attended the memorial at Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Monday, and many more on social media.

Twenty thousand people filled the venue to pay their last respects to the NBA star and his 13-year-old child, reported BBC.

The two were among nine people who died in a helicopter crash a month ago.

Speaking publicly for the first time since their deaths, Vanessa said Kobe was the best husband and father to their four daughters and that Gigi would have been the best female basketball player in the US.

“He had magic arms and could put Capri to sleep in only a few minutes. He said he had it down to science, eight times down and up our hallway. He loved taking Bianca to the park and the recent evening was the one before he and Gigi passed.”

Kobe and Gigi shared a love for basketball, a passion Vanessa said he enjoyed nurturing, though they had more in common than their love for the game.

“He loved being Gigi's basketball coach. He told me he wished he could convince Natalia to play basketball so they could spend even more time together.”

CNN reported that Vanessa filed a lawsuit against Island Express at the LA Superior Court on the day of the memorial service. The company owned the helicopter Kobe and Gigi were travelling in. 

She has accused the pilot of negligence, failure to operate the helicopter and wrongful deaths, among other things. 

The company had no comment when CNN asked for a response.