The world was thrown into shock and mourning as basketball legend, Kobe Bryant was announced death alongside his daughter Gianna 8 others in an helicopter crash in California.
Tributes from the sport world, co-basketballers, celebrities, fans and the world at large were expressed on the late basketball star.
Kobe Bean Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States August 23, 1978. He was the greatest American professional basketball player of his time. He was described as an emergence of another basketball star after Micheal Jordan, which proved in his hay days.
A shooting guard, Bryant played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league’s all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. According to Forbes, Bryant’s net worth was estimated at $350 million in 2016.
Bryant was the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant. He attended Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high-school basketball player in the country. Upon graduation, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; the Hornets then traded him to the Lakers.
As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, and he was named an All-Star by his second season. Despite a feud between the two players, Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.
In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old hotel employee. The charges were dropped after the plaintiff refused to testify in court and a civil suit was settled out of court. Bryant issued a public apology, and the allegations were considered to have harmed his public profile.
After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962. Bryant was named the regular season’s MVP in 2008.
After the Lakers lost in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the team to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions. He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013, when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. He recovered, but suffered season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder in the following two seasons. Citing his physical decline, Bryant retired after the 2015–16 season.
At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1, 2010, when he surpassed Jerry West. During his third year in the league, Bryant was chosen to start the All-Star Game, and was selected to start that game for a record 18 consecutive appearances until his retirement. His four All-Star MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball.
Bryant met Vanessa Laine in November 1999 and the two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000. They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. They have four children together Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, Natalia Diamante Bryant, Bianka Bella Bryant, Capri Kobe Bryant.
At 9:06 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter owned by Bryant departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, with nine people aboard: Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna (Gigi), Gigi’s peers and their parents (including Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, Sarah Chester, and her daughter Payton[460]), basketball coach Christina Mauser, and the pilot Ara Zobayan. The group was travelling to Bryant’s Mamba Academy for a practice session when the helicopter crashed in Calabasas.
At 9:45 a.m. the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and caught on fire.
At 9:47 a.m. authorities were called. The helicopter had passed over Boyle Heights, near Dodger Stadium, and circled over Glendale during the flight. Personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department attended the scene. The fire had been extinguished by 10:30 a.m. None of the nine occupants survived. Initial reports indicated that the helicopter crashed in the hills above Calabasas in heavy fog.
Bryant, fondly called ‘Mamba’ will be greatly missed for inspiring many with his skills as basketball star and philanthropist activities.
