The most recent NBA player was involved in a plane crash.

 

The most recent NBA player was involved in a plane crash.

On Sunday, the NBA and much of America were in shock after Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash. He was 41.

Bryant was on board the helicopter with eight other people, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, when it crashed near Calabasas, 30 miles north-west of downtown Los Angeles, at 10 a.m. local time. The crash sparked brushfires, making it difficult for rescue workers to get close to the scene. There had been no survivors. Bryant, who has lived in the area for most of his life, frequently uses helicopters to avoid Los Angeles’ heavy traffic, and he was taking Gianna to a basketball game at his academy outside the city on Sunday.

“We received a call just before 10 a.m. this morning of an aircraft down in the Malibu area, right off of Las Vergenes, essentially Calabasas,” Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Tony Imbrenda said at the scene. “Some people were out mountain biking this morning when they noticed an aircraft in distress and went down into the hillside.” This was a helicopter; it was confirmed to be an S-76 Sikorsky helicopter, and there were no survivors.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have both stated that the accident will be investigated.

Bryant’s talent was obvious from an early age, and he was already attracting national attention while still in high school. Unlike most NBA players, he went straight from school to the NBA, foregoing a college career. He played his entire, 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won five championships with the team and was named an All-Star on 18 occasions. He retired in 2016 as the NBA’s third-highest all-time scorer. He also won gold medals with Team USA at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

“The NBA family is devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna,” the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, said in a statement.

“For 20 seasons, Kobe showed us what is possible when remarkable talent blends with an absolute devotion to winning. He was one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game with accomplishments that are legendary: five NBA championships, an NBA MVP award, 18 NBA All-Star selections, and two Olympic gold medals. 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.”

Donald Trump called the death of Bryant and his daughter “devastating” as he offered his condolences. “Kobe Bryant, despite being one of the truly great basketball players of all time, was just getting started in life. He loved his family so much, and had such strong passion for the future. The loss of his beautiful daughter, Gianna, makes this moment even more devastating,” wrote Trump on Twitter.

Trump’s predecessor as US president, Barack Obama, also paid his respects. “Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” he wrote on Twitter. “To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”

Bryant moved into the media following his retirement and in 2018 he won an Oscar for best animated short for a film called Dear Basketball, based on a poem he wrote about his retirement from the game.

However, Bryant’s reputation was tarnished after he was arrested in 2003 over accusations he had raped a teenager at a hotel in Colorado. Bryant denied the allegations, saying the encounter had been consensual. The case was dropped after the alleged victim refused to testify at trial. Bryant later apologised to the woman, saying “I recognise now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did”. Bryant and the woman later settled a separate civil suit out of court.