Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna Maria, among 9 killed in helicopter crash.
CALABASAS, CA. – NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday morning, along with eight others. Bryant was 41 years old. His 13-year-old
CALABASAS, CA. – NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday morning, along with eight others. Bryant was 41 years old. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also killed in the crash.
TMZ Sports reported Kobe was traveling in his private helicopter when it crashed in Calabasas. TMZ said Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, was not among those on board. However, FOX Sports learned his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was on the helicopter with him and eight other people.
John Altobelli, former head coach of the Brewster Whitecaps baseball team and current head coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team, and his wife and daughter were among those killed in the crash, according to a post from the team’s Twitter account.
Orange Coast College, located in Costa Mesa, also issued a statement confirming the deaths of Altobelli, his wife, and daughter on Sunday evening.
Nine people were on board when the helicopter went down near Calabasas this morning. The Los Angeles County Fire Department stated that there were no survivors. The sheriff department began receiving reports of the downed aircraft just after 1 p.m.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Tony Imbrenda stated that he did not immediately have information about whether the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter radioed a distress signal.
Former President Barack Obama issued a statement, calling Kobe a legend on the court and was only scratching the surface on what he can do off the court.
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
The National Basketball Players Association released a statement on Kobe’s passing:
“We are stunned and devastated by the news of the sudden passing of Kobe Bryant. Words cannot express his impact on our Players, the NBA and the game of basketball. This is a monumental loss for the entire basketball community and our hearts are quite simply broken. We send love and prayers out to his wife Vanessa and the entire family.”
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced the team would retire the number 24 in Bryant’s honor:
“We are shocked and saddened by the devastating news of the passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. Kobe was an ambassador for our game, a decorated legend, and a global icon. Above all, he was a loving and dedicated father,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all the lives lost and the families impacted by this terrible tragedy. We send our thoughts and prayers to Vanessa and the family, the Lakers organization and Kobe Bryant fans everywhere.”
Bryant was 41-years-old.
He played his entire 20-year-old NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers and finished his career as one of the best to ever play the game.
At the age of 17, Bryant was drafted into the NBA straight out of High School. He retired in 2016 has a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, and the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history.
We are sending our prayers and comfort to the Bryant family.
Oscar-Winning Kobe Bryant Short Film:
Oscar-Winning #KobeBryant Short Film. Rest In Peace #Mamba 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/PQeRqbsi7o
— Everything DC MD & VA (@TheDMVDailyy) January 26, 2020
Originally from Philadelphia, Kobe was drafted straight out of high school by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 1996 draft. The Hornets traded him to the Lakers, where he played until he retired in 2016.
In the 20 years in the NBA, he won 5 NBA Finals including being named Finals MVP twice. He also was voted to the All-Star Team 18 times and scored 81 points in one game against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. That was the second-highest point total in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points.
Kobe also won two Gold Medals in the Olympics, in 2008 and 2012. After he retired in 2016, the Lakers retired both number 8, the jersey he wore for the first ten years of his career, and 24, the number he wore for the final ten years. He’s the only Laker to have two numbers retired.
TMZ reports that Kobe often used a helicopter to travel and when he played for the Lakers, he would fly from his home in Newport Beach, Calif., to the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles in a helicopter.
Kobe and Gianna are survived by his wife Vanessa, and their three other daughters — Natalia and Bianca and their newborn Capri.
Bryant had one of the greatest careers in recent NBA history and became one of the game’s most popular players as the face of the 16-time NBA champion Lakers franchise. He was the league MVP in 2008 and a two-time NBA scoring champion, and he earned 12 selections to the NBA’s All-Defensive teams. He teamed with Shaquille O’Neal in a combustible partnership to lead the Lakers to NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He later teamed with Pau Gasol to win two more titles in 2009 and 2010.
Bryant retired in 2016 after scoring 60 points in his final NBA game. Bryant looms large over the current generation of NBA players. After James passed Bryant on Saturday, he remembered listening to Bryant when the superstar came to speak at a childhood basketball camp.
“I remember one thing he said: If you want to be great at it, or want to be one of the greats, you’ve got to put the work in,” James said.
“There’s no substitution for work.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
