Former Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash Sunday in Calabasas, California, USA TODAY confirmed.
Bryant, 41, was flying on his personal helicopter Sunday morning when it crashed about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed in a tweet five people died in the crash and there were no survivors. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
USA TODAY confirmed Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also on the helicopter and is confirmed dead. The pair was traveling to a youth basketball game. Gianna has been in the public eye more since Bryant’s retirement in 2016. Bryant regularly discussed coaching her youth basketball team and posted about attending her games. Gianna has also attended several basketball games with Bryant.
The identities of the other victims have not yet been confirmed.
The NBA legend played for the Lakers for 20 seasons and ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time leading scorers list with 33,643 points. LeBron James passed Bryant on the list Saturday evening.
During his career, Bryant was named NBA MVP after the 2007-08 season and won five NBA Championships. He claimed back-to-back NBA Finals MVP awards in 2009 and 2010. Among his many accolades are 11 All-NBA first-team selections (second-most in NBA history), two Olympic gold medals and 18 All-Star team selections. He also won an Academy Award in 2018 for “Dear Basketball”, the year’s Best Animated Short Film.
Bryant was married to Vanessa Bryant and had four daughters.
Bryant’s legacy was bigger than basketball. News of his death incited messages of grief and respect from sports figures around the globe including several golfers.
This story is developing and will be updated.
