Kobe Bryant along with his 13-year-old daughter were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday outside Los Angeles, rocking the sports world and generating an outpouring of grief and shock across the country. NBA is in complete shock after the incident, the netizens are showing deep grief, fans are still in denial.
Mr. Bryant, 41, a force of nature on the court who gave himself the nickname Black Mamba, retired in 2016, with five N.B.A. championship rings and a long list of N.B.A. records — he was surpassed by LeBron James on Saturday night for third on the N.B.A. career scoring list. Signing with the league right out of high school in 1996, he changed the way the N.B.A. identified, groomed and developed its youngest stars.
He was far more than a basketball giant. He was among the world’s best-known athletes, a star on the order of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, swarmed by fans whether he was in Beijing or Beverly Hills. It is not uncommon to hear people in some quarters shout, “Kobe!’’ when they hit a jump shot.
Tributes and words of praise came in from figures across the sporting world. Emotional scenes unfolded in pro arenas across America as eight games tipped off on one of the saddest days in recent basketball history.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban quickly tweeted after the news broke saying, “We can never forget how precious life is. How those who are special to you and never let them forget how deeply you love them.”
KristapsPorzingis said on an Instagram post that he couldn’t believe the news was true.
“My favorite player growing up just passed. I cant believe this is true,” Porzingis said. “Rest in peace Kobe. Legends live forever.”
Other players like point guards Jalen Brunson and J. J. Barea also shared their disbelief.
According to the reports the helicopter went down near Calabasas, Calif., about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, in foggy conditions, though the authorities were investigating the cause. The helicopter was on its way from Orange County, Calif., where the Bryant family lives, to Mr. Bryant’s youth basketball academy northwest of Los Angeles, where he coaches his daughter Gianna, who died in the crash.
It was a moment of national mourning, coast to coast. Thousands of people converged at Staples Center, the Lakers’ home arena in downtown Los Angeles; condolences poured in from presidents, celebrities and sports luminaries; and several entertainers paid tribute to Mr. Bryant at the Grammy Awards, which took place at the arena hours later. A shrine emerged at Mr. Bryant’s high school alma mater in suburban Philadelphia.
News of Mr. Bryant’s death was immediately described in tragic terms, the premature end to the life of a worldwide superstar who touched the lives of, and was so familiar to, basketball fans and also those who had little interest in the sport.
There was a video of Mr. James, who now plays for the Lakers, in tears. President Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, expressed sadness; Mr. Obama, who had developed a friendship with Mr. Bryant borne out of visits to the White House and their mutual love of basketball, took note of Mr. Bryant’s daughter’s death on Twitter.
Based on publicly available flight tracking data, the
helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76, was in the air for about a half-hour. It took off
from Irvine, Calif., and flew up to the Glendale area, circled around there
slowly for a little while, then swung in a wide arc around the northern edge of
the San Fernando Valley and down to Calabasas, where it apparently was rapidly
trying to gain altitude right before the crash.
Grief spread across Los Angeles, with thousands of fans congregating at or near Staples Center. Fans erected a shrine with Mr. Bryant’s jersey as well as flowers, caps and signs. So many people arrived that most could not even catch a glimpse of the memorial.
