Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers and NBA legend, dies at 41 in a helicopter crash; fans, teams pay tribute

[caption id=“attachment_7960911” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, died on Sunday when a helicopter he was riding in crashed and burst into flames in thick fog, killing all nine people on board. Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby said nobody survived the crash into a hill in Calabasas, which is approximately 30 miles west of Los Angeles. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960791” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Sikorsky S-76 helicopter slammed into a rugged hillside in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles. There were no survivors killing all eight passengers and the pilot. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960811” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Bryant, 41, was travelling with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was primed to play in the WNBA. The crash occurred about 20 miles from Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant’s basketball training complex in Newbury Park, California and the destination of the chopper ride. A youth basketball tournament — the Mamba Cup — was scheduled for a second day of competition on Sunday. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7961671” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Bryant scored 33,643 career points, third-most in league history, and averaged 25 points per game, including a 60-point performance in his final game on 13 April, 2016. His 81-point game on 22 January, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors was the second-highest scoring performance in the NBA. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960891” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  The retired Los Angeles Lakers star was proudest of his five championship rings, the most recent in 2010. Only four NBA players who weren’t on the Boston Celtics’ 1960s dynasty teams have won more titles. Bryant reached seven NBA Finals. His career was remarkable for its longevity and because he played all 20 seasons with the Lakers — the most ever for one team. Bryant was the fifth player to last two full decades. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960751” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant’s long time teammate at Lakers, tweeted: “There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother. I love u and u 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 was so much more than an athlete, he was a family man. That was what we had most in common. I would hug his children like they were my own and he would embrace my kids like they were his. His baby girl Gigi was born on the same day as my youngest daughter Me’Arah.” AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960771” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  He was an 18-time All-Star, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and the 2008 NBA MVP. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960901” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Bryant retired in 2016 after spending two decades at the Lakers. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960761” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa, left, and daughters Natalia, second from right, and Gianna in April 2016. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960831” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Ferris wheel in Santa Monica, California in Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold colors with Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 in his honour. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960921” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  Fans honour the memory of Bryant with a minute’s silence before an NBA basketball game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960941” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  People gather at a memorial for Kobe Bryant near Staples Center Sunday in Los Angeles. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_7960821” align=“alignnone” width=“940”]  The ceiling of Madison Square Garden is lit in the colors of the Los Angeles Lakers as Bryant’s picture is displayed on a video screen during a moment of silence prior to the start of Brooklyn Nets against New York Knicks. AP[/caption]