Basketball star Kobe Bryant & daughter die in a helicopter crash
By: Sophie Opondo
Posted on Monday, January 27, 2020
On the 26th of January 2020, a beautiful Sunday morning in Los Angeles California, the world lost not only one of the greatest basketball players of all time but someone who was trying to improve the health of kids around the globe. A helicopter crash in Calabasas, Southern California, claimed the lives of the 41-year-old Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria Onore aka Gigi.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said nine other people were on the plane - a pilot and eight passengers. He would not confirm who had died until all the next of kin had been notified. According to Variety and Los Angeles Times the team were on their way to the Mamba Academy for a basketball practice when the crash occurred. Eyewitnesses said that they heard the helicopter’s engine sputtering before it went down in foggy weather conditions that day. Authorities confirmed that the helicopter took off from Orange County, where Kobe lived. The official cause of the crash is currently under investigation.
Bryant’s death stunned the sports world and beyond. Everyone has come together to pay tribute to a global icon through the different social media networks and channels.
Kobe is survived by his wife Vanessa. Together they had four daughters Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and their new-born Capri. Kobe and Vanessa met in 1999 and got married in 2001. Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2016. During this period, he went on win nearly every basketball accolade; five-time NBA Champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008, 18-time NBA All-Star, and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. The 6-foot-6 guard was frequently compared to fellow NBA icon Michael Jordan.
An extremely versatile athlete on the basketball court, Bryant was clearly very flexible off the court as well. After retirement he wrote and narrated an animated short film entitled Dear Basketball; which is based on a letter he wrote announcing his retirement. It won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards, in 2018. This was the first time in history that an NBA player had won such an award.
Walking in her father’s footsteps…
His first born daughter Gigi fell in love with her father’s craft; she was gifted with the skills too. Becoming quite the baller in her own right, people started calling her the Black Mambacita after his Dad. Her passion for the game reinvigorated Kobe after retirement.
You know what's funny? Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that's she's into basketball, we watch every night.
Bryant talked about having developed different appreciation of the game as he experienced it through his daughter’s eyes.
We just have so much fun because it was the first time I was seeing the game through her eyes. Whether it’s on TV or in person. It wasn't me sitting there you know as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you know it's like about me, and I don't like that. It was her, she was having such a good time
Kobe Bryant retired in 2016 and would have been eligible for the NBA Hall of Fame this year. He was youngest player in NBA history to amass 27,000 career points. He was a giant who inspired, amazed, and thrilled people everywhere with his incomparable skill on the court. He inspired fans with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius and also as an ambassador for the game he loved.
He will be remembered through the ages as one of the greatest players to have graced a Basketball court on the planet.
Rest in Peace Black Mamba, play with the Angels.
