Basketball Great Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter and 7 others over the weekend.
Kobe and his daughter were headed to a youth basketball game when the helicopter crashed.
Investigators are still trying to find out the cause of the crash and have asked anyone with any information regarding the crash to come forward with any information they might have.
All the people who died in the crash were:
- Kobe Bryant – Greatest Laker who ever played.
- Gianna Bryant – Kobe’s daughter and upcoming basketball star
- John Altobelli – A basketball coach for the Orange Coast College
- Keri Altobelli – John Altobelli’s wife
- Alyssa Altobelli – John and Keri Altobelli’s daughter
- Christina Mauser – Co-coach of a girls basketball team along with Kobe Bryant
- Sarah Chester
- Payton Chester – Sarah Chester’s daughter who played on one of Kobe Bryant’s basketball teams
- Ara Zobayan-The helicopter pilot
Friends and ex-players all over responded to Kobe’s death:
- Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal who played 8 season with Kobe said, “There are no words to express the pain I’m going through now with this tragic and sad moment of losing my niece Gigi & my friend, my brother, my partner in winning championships, my dude and my homie. I love you and you will be missed. My condolences go out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW “!!
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “The NBA family is devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna. 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”.
- Basketball legend Michael Jordan said, “Words can’t describe the pain I’m feeling. I loved Kobe — he was like a little brother to me. We used to talk often, and I will miss those conversations very much”.
- Kobe’s former coach Phil Jackson said,”The crash was a tragedy for multiple families. My heart goes out to Vanessa and the families that lost loved ones. Kobe was a chosen one — special in many ways to many people. Our relationship as a coach/player transcended the norm. He went beyond the veil”.
Over the weekend Alicia Keys took some time to make a heartfelt speech about Kobe when hosting the Grammy’s. She said, “Here we are together, on music’s biggest night, celebrating the artists that do it best, but to be honest with you, we’re all feeling crazy sadness right now, because earlier today, Los Angeles, America and the whole wide world lost a hero, and we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe Bryant built”.
Kobe was known as the greatest basketball player who had ever played for the Los Angeles Lakers. He started in the NBA in 1996 and played for 20 years. He was an 18-time All-Star and had won 5 championships. He has the fourth-highest NBA point record of all time and was the first guard ever drafted directly out of high school.
