Former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant attends a promotional event organized by the sports brand Nike, for the inauguration of the infrastructure improvements of a local basketball playground at the Jean-Jaures sports hall “Le Quartier”, in Paris on October 21, 2017.
Philippe Lopez | AFP | Getty Images
Retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died Sunday morning in a fatal California helicopter crash that killed three others.
There were no survivors in the crash around 10 a.m. in Calabasas, Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The three other people killed were a teammate of Gianna’s, the teammate’s parent and the pilot.
An investigation is ongoing, and the National Transportation Safety Board said it sent a team to the site of the Sikorsky S-76B crash.
Bryant, 41, played for 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers and is considered one of the best basketball players of all time. He won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star and is fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Bryant was born in Philadelphia and attended Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburbs, where he dominated as a high school basketball player. He was drafted into the NBA immediately after graduating high school, becoming one of the youngest players in the league’s history.
At 34 years old, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to surpass the 30,000 point mark. He retired in 2016, and was scheduled to headline the 2020 NBA Hall of Fame nominees.
Bryant had four daughters with his wife Vanessa — Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri. His father, Joe Bryant, was also a professional basketball player, and played with teams including the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Diego Clippers and the Houston Rockets.
LA county firefighters on the scene of a helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant in Calabasas, California, U.S., January 26, 2020.
Gene Blevins | Reuters
NBA athletes, officials and fans mourned Bryant’s death in messages and memorials across social media.
“I’m stunned. Words can’t even come close to describing it. Just an incredibly sad and tragic day,” former NBA star Scottie Pippen tweeted.
“Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players,” tweeted former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete.”
Former LA Laker Shaquille O’Neal also responded to the news: “There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Washington Wizards in the first half at Verizon Center on December 2, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Rob Carr | Getty Images
Bryant’s legacy is also clouded with some controversy. He was arrested in 2003 after a sexual assault complaint was filed against him by a 19-year-old hotel employee, who claimed that he had raped her. The case was ultimately dropped and a civil suit was settled.
In a public apology, Bryant said he believed the encounter was consensual, but now recognized “that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.”
In his retirement, Bryant won an Academy Award for his film “Dead Basketball,” which was based on a poem he wrote. He also created a web series called “Detail” for ESPN, which analyzed film of current players, and traveled the country speaking to sports teams about leadership and basketball.
Kobe Bryant attends the LA Community Screening Of Warner Bros Pictures’ “Just Mercy” at Cinemark Baldwin Hills on January 06, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
Frazer Harrison
