Legendary NBA player Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 41 years old.
According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department, a helicopter carrying nine people crashed in Calabasas. There were no survivors. The Los Angeles Times and ESPN subsequently confirmed that Bryant was among those killed. TMZ reports that one of Bryant’s daughters, 13-year-old Gianna Maria Onore, was also killed in the crash.
Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant was a five-time NBA champion and ranks fourth on the league’s list of all-time scoring leaders. A member of the Los Angeles Lakers for the entirety of his 20-year career, he was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive team, and was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). He retired from the NBA in 2016.
Outside of basketball, in 2018 Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball.
As news of his death spread, figures across the music world, as well as former president Barack Obama and NBA legend Michael Jordan, paid tribute to Bryant:
Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act. To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 26, 2020
Statement from Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/AqLsRWMxl9
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) January 26, 2020
Kobe, We love you brother
We’re praying for your family and appreciate the life you’ve lived and all the inspiration you gave pic.twitter.com/pxbgLOOmpY
Advertisement— ye (@kanyewest) January 26, 2020
I love you Kobe
— Flea (@flea333) January 26, 2020
We lost a King. 824
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 26, 2020
My heart is in pieces hearing the news of this unimaginable tragedy. I can’t fathom what the families are going through. Kobe meant so much to me and to us all. Sending my prayers, love, and endless condolences to Vanessa and the family and anyone who lost someone on that flight.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 26, 2020
Some of the most fun times I’ve had with my family has been going to Lakers games, so it is so shocking and so sad to hear about Kobe Bryant. Love and mercy to Kobe’s beautiful family.
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) January 26, 2020
The world lost a giant today
Rest In Peace Kobe Bryant. Also praying for the other passengers that we lost and their families.Advertisement— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) January 26, 2020
