Kobe Bryant was a five-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, the only team he ever played for in his 20 seasons in the NBA.
Dubai - Tributes pour in as authorities begin investigation
Published: Mon 27 Jan 2020, 11:55 PM
Updated: Tue 28 Jan 2020, 1:02 AM
National Basketball Association (NBA) and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Sunday, officials in the Californian city confirmed.
TMZ.com first reported the news.
The City of Calabasas' official Twitter account confirmed the incident.
The Los Angeles Times' Richard Winton and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski were among the first to confirm the news. The NBA's website has also reported the news.
Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was also on board and among those killed.
Calabasas added that the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating.
Tributes from fellow athletes, celebrities and fans have poured in. US President Donald Trump on Twitter called Bryant 'great' and that the accident was 'terrible news'. People have also gathered outside the Lakers' home court, Staples Center in Los Angeles, to pay their respects.
A moment of silence was also observed in the first game of the NBA's slate on Sunday between the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
The defending champion Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs, on the other hand, took a 24-second violation each to start their game, a reference to Bryant's jersey number; he also wore 8 in the first half of his career. Both numbers have been retired by the Lakers - a rarity in sports.
Bryant, 41, was on his way to a basketball game when the crash occurred at around 10am local time.
He was in Philadelphia to attend the Lakers' game against the Sixers, where LeBron James, the new face of the Lakers' franchise, surpassed him to become the NBA's third all-time scoring leader.
Bryant - who went directly to the NBA from high school at age 18 in 1996 - was a five-time champion, one-time most valuable player, 18-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, among several other accolades, in the NBA. He was a career Laker, having suited up for the franchise in all of his 20 seasons in the league.
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