Kobe Bryant congratulated another NBA player in a poignant last tweet just hours before he died in a helicopter crash.
The retired basketball player lost his spot as the third-leading scorer in NBA history on Saturday night after he was overtaken by fellow Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James.
Bryant, 41, paid tribute to James on Twitter, writing: “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother.”
He added a muscle emoji and the hashtag “#33644”, which was the number of points James needed to become the third-leading scorer in NBA history.
On Saturday night, James said he was “happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bean Bryant, one of the all-time greatest basketball player to ever play. One of the all-time greatest Lakers.”
Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, at about 10am on Sunday.
His 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was a talented basketball player, also died.
Authorities confirmed nine people were on the Sikorsky S-76 at the time of the crash and that all were presumed dead.
Bryant lived south of Los Angeles in coastal Orange County for much of his adult life, often using helicopters to save time and avoid Southern California’s notorious traffic.
He was an 18-times NBA All-Star who won five NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers during a 20-year career with the team.
He had four daughters with his wife Vanessa, including Gianna, Natalia, Bianca and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.
