NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning in Calabasas, California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reports. Bryant’s daughter Gianna, “Gigi,” 13, was among the nine dead in the crash.
Bryant, a father of four, was on his way to Gianna’s travel basketball game when the helicopter went down. Another player and parent from the team were on board, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Bryant’s death comes just a day after the Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James passed him as No. 3 on the NBA all-time scoring list after scoring 33,643. Bryant, who played his entire career for the Lakers, quickly went to Twitter Saturday night to congratulate James on passing him, saying “Continuing to move to game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother.”
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother 💪🏾 #33644
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
James was visibly upset getting off of the Lakers team plane following the news of Bryant and Gianna’s death.
LeBron is met with emotional hugs after landing in Los Angeles following the death of Kobe Bryant.
(via NBC4 Los Angeles) pic.twitter.com/Fx9jt2qZVi
— ESPN (@espn) January 26, 2020
“When I heard in the middle of my game about Kobe’s passing, my heart kind of sank and the first place my mind went to was how his daughter Gigi was feeling at that moment. Then after the game, I found out she passed too, which made me emotional. Not only did the world lose such an amazing athlete, we lost an exceptional person and father, who was a huge advocate for women basketball and women in sports,” said MFS girls basketball player, Bella Runyan ’20.
Bryant, born and raised just outside of Philadelphia, was drafted by the Lakers from Lower Merion High School in 1996. Bryant was the youngest player to play in the NBA at the time, at 18 years, 2 months, and 11 days.
In his 20-year career, Bryant was a 18-time all-star, a 15-time all-NBA selection, a two time scoring champion, a five time NBA champion, and the 2008 league MVP. Kobe also won two Olympic gold medals in men’s basketball. He is eligible for the hall of fame this year.
After retiring in 2016, Bryant went on to win an Oscar for his short film “Dear Basketball” in 2017.
“I looked up to Kobe as a great offensive player and person and aspired to be just like him one day,” said Moorestown Friends boys basketball player, Christian Parsi ’21.
The entire sports world mourned the loss of Bryant. “Nooooooooooo God please No!” retired NBA player Dwyane Wade tweeted when the news struck of Bryant’s death.
Nooooooooooo God please No!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) January 26, 2020
The New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady tweeted “ We miss you already Kobe.”
We miss you already Kobe ❤️❤️🙏🏼🙏🏼
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) January 26, 2020
Fellow Lakers legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal took to social media to mourn. Jabbar posted a video on twitter talking about his relationship with Bryant and his father Joe, who played in the NBA from 1975-1992.
Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete. pic.twitter.com/9EZuwk8wrV
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) January 26, 2020
O’Neal tweeted, “There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through now with this tragic and sad moment of losing my niece Gigi & my friend, my brother, my partner in winning championships, my dude, my homie. I love you and you will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. I’m sick right now!”
O’Neal played eight seasons with Bryant and the Lakers from 1996-2004, winning three straight NBA championships in four appearances, before leaving the Lakers following a falling out with Bryant.
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 pic.twitter.com/pigHywq3c1
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 26, 2020
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement following Bryant and Gianna’s death:
The NBA family is devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.
For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when a remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning. He was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game with accomplishments that are legendary: five NBA championships, an NBA MVP award, 18 NBA All-Star selections, and two Olympic gold medals. But he will be remembered most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete to the very best of their ability. He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations of players, taking special delight in passing down his love of the game to Gianna.
We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Vanessa, and their family, the Lakers organization and the entire sports world.
The Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets held a moment of silence to honor Bryant prior to the start of their game.
The Rockets and Nuggets held a moment of silence before tipoff to remember Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/PAiFHze1LK
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 26, 2020
In the Toronto Raptor-San Antonio Spurs game, both teams let the shot clock run down to zero on their first possessions to honor Bryant, who wore No. 24 during his career, the same number of seconds that are in the shot clock.
Thousands of fans gathered in the plaza across from the Staples Center, the home court of the Lakers, to pay tribute to Bryant and celebrate his career and life. Fans were not able to stand directly outside of the Staples Center since it was blocked due to the Grammys being hosted there.
A large group of fans are in the plaza across from Staples Center to celebrate the life of Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/jqUsikn2sT
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 26, 2020
“Kobe was hardworking and relentless on and off the court,” said MFS boys basketball player Matt Tom ’21. “He aspired to be the greatest at his profession, despite overcoming various obstacles, and, in turn, inspired many to follow suit in their own ambitions for greatness.”
Bryant’s daughter Gianna was an aspiring WNBA player, and played for the Los Angeles Lady Mambas, who Bryant coached.
Their memories will be carried on through Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Laine Bryant, his three daughters, Natalia Diamante, 17, Bianka Bella, 3, and Capri Kobe, 7 months, and fans all around the world.
Editors Note: This story was updated on January 27 to include a quote from Bella Runyan.
Demfy • Feb 12, 2020 at 3:53 am
I was at home when I heard the news, around 8pm GMT. I’d just sat down on the sofa for a rest and opened the Instagram app to see a photo of Kobe Bryant and something like ‘RIP to the greatest’ from another NBA player. I was a bit confused, but didn’t want to make any assumptions to opened BBC News where the headline was ‘NBA Legend Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash’.
It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been saddened to the brink of tears on hearing of the death of somebody I never met.
When I was younger a family friend got me into basketball. It’s not that big in the UK. At the time Michael Jordan was at his prime and I loved watching Michael play. Then I remember seeing a young kid – who probably looked the same age as me at the time, ~13 – playing for the LA Lakers and that was it, from that moment on I was a Lakers and Kobe fan.
Since my mid-teens he’s been my idol. He was the greatest player ever to me, and really seems to be a good guy away from the game too.