Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba. The 5-time NBA champion, the husband and the father is gone.
Reports have been confirmed that Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning. He was 41 and Gianna was only 13.
According to TMZ.com, Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We're told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.
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Bryant was on his way to a travel basketball game with his daughter when the helicopter crashed.
Kobe was known for using his helicopter to travel for years -- dating back to when he played for the Lakers. He was known for commuting from Newport Beach, CA to the STAPLES Center in DTLA in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper.
His longtime on-court collaborator and Lakers teammate, Shaquille O'Neal just posted a tribute to Kobe ... saying, "There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through now with this tragic and sad moment of loosing my friend, my brother, my partner in winning championships, my dude and my homie."
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He continued, "I love you brother and you will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW!"
Kobe's last tweets was in honor of fellow NBA All-star, LeBron James beating out his scoring record from the night before.
James inscribed his sneakers with "Mamba 4 Life" and "8/24 KB" in gold marker before the game, showing respect for Bryant, an 18-time All-Star with the Lakers who is eligible for the Basketball Hall of Fame this year. All week, in the lead-up to the milestone, he was quick to laud Bryant.
"It's another guy that I looked up to when I was in grade school and high school," James said. "Seeing him come straight out of high school, he is someone that I used as inspiration. It was like, wow. Seeing a kid, 17 years old, come into the NBA and trying to make an impact on a franchise, I used it as motivation. He helped me before he even knew of me because of what he was able to do. So, just to be able to, at this point of my career, to share the same jersey that he wore, be with this historical franchise and just represent the purple and gold, it's very humbling and it's dope.
KB is survived by his wife Vanessa. Together, they have four daughters -- Gianna, Natalia and Bianca and their newborn Capri. Kobe and Vanessa got married in 2001 after meeting in 1999.
