Kobe Bryant, NBA basketball legend, dies in helicopter crash
kobe bryant dead dies obit helicopter crash los angeles calabasas lakers nba legend
ABC News
The former Los Angeles Lakers star and his 13-year-old daughter were in the NBA star's private helicopter with seven other people when it crashed north-west of Los Angeles, killing everyone on board.
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United States basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter have died in a helicopter crash in California.

The 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers guard and five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion was travelling with eight other people in his private helicopter when it crashed in Calabasas, California, about 65 kilometres north-west of Los Angeles.

In a press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said nine people including the pilot were listed on the manifest and there was no survivors.

Earlier reports from the Los Angeles County Sheriff and the City of Calabasas said four people had died, along with Bryant.

An unnamed source confirmed with AP that Bryant's daughter Gianna was one of the people killed in the crash. But Sheriff Villanueva said it was inappropriate to identify anyone by name until the bodies had been identified by the coroner and families had been notified.

A teammate from Bryant's daughter's basketball team, a parent of the teammate, and the pilot were also killed in the crash, NBC News reported.

First responders put out the flames of the crash site, the sheriff's department said, posting a picture of a fire truck and smoke emerging from the brush in a ravine.

Bryant lived south of Los Angeles in Orange County for much of his adult life, and he often used helicopters to save time and avoid Southern California's notorious traffic.

He often travelled to practices and games by Sikorsky S-76 chopper before retiring in 2016, and he kept up the practice after retirement as he attended to his business ventures.

The US Federal Aviation Administration identified the crashed helicopter as a Sikorsky S-76, saying in a statement that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate.

The crash occurred about 32km from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant's basketball training complex in Thousand Oaks, California.

Bryant, who had four daughters with his wife, Vanessa, dedicated himself to boosting women's sports in recent years, coaching and mentoring basketball players.

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Gianna, better known as Gigi, was a talented basketball player.

Bryant won five NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was an 18-time NBA All-Star who wore the numbers 8 and 24 during his 20-year career with the team.

He won the Most Valuable Player award once in his career with the Lakers, before retiring as the third-leading scorer in NBA history.

He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers' LeBron James passed him for third place during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant's hometown.

"Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames," Bryant wrote in his last tweet.

"Much respect my brother."

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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.

Bryant was known for his a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic.

He was 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 the NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He later teamed with Pau Gasol to win two more titles in 2009 and 2010.

O'Neal said he was "sick" after the news of Bryant's death.

"I love you and you will be missed.

"My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board."

NBA legend Michael Jordan said he was in shock at the passing of Bryant, saying the Lakers legend was "like a little brother" to him.

"Kobe was also an amazing dad who loved his family deeply — and took great pride in his daughter's love for the game of basketball," Jordan said in a statement.

While former US president Barack Obama tweeted his sympathies to Bryant's wife and family.

Early in his professional career, the focus shifted from his basketball to an off-court incident where a woman accused him of sexual assault.

A US judge dismissed a rape charge in 2004 after the woman told prosecutors she could not go ahead with the case.

The 20-year-old woman, who received death threats in response to the case, accused Bryant of raping her after she entered his hotel room in 2003, at the resort where she worked in Colorado.

Bryant issued a statement apologising to the woman without admitting any wrongdoing.

"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognise now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way that I did," Bryant's statement said.

NBA fans and stars react

Early tip-off NBA games went ahead as scheduled despite the news of Bryant's death.

At the Raptors-Spurs game in San Antonio, both teams agreed to take 24-second violations from the tip-off — holding the ball for the allotted time and allowing a turnover — in honour of Bryant's number 24.

Throughout the game, the crowd chanted Bryant's first name.

Houston Rockets player Tyson Chandler was visibly upset courtside as his team played the Nuggets in Denver.

The news of the Lakers legend's death broke 10 minutes before the game's tip-off.

Lakers star LeBron James was hugged upon arrival in Los Angeles after the news of Bryant's death.

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While fans at the National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida, also began chanting Bryant's first name after a moment of silence was held at the start of the game.

In a statement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said "the NBA family" was devastated by Bryant's death.

"For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning," the statement read.

"But he will be remembered most for inspiring people around the world to pick up a basketball and compete to the very best of their ability.

"He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations of players, taking special delight in passing down his love of the game to Gianna.

"We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Vanessa and their family, the Lakers organisation and the entire sports world."

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Former Australian basketballer and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Lauren Jackson said the basketball community was in shock.

"Even watching the NBA players and how it is impacting them in their games right now and some of those college teams, it's definitely been felt very hard," she said.

"It's really hard to articulate … the feelings, I think, that everyone is having."

Fellow former and current US basketball stars paid tribute to Bryant and reacted to his death on social media: