Kobe Bryant dies in the age of 41 in helicoptor crash

Kobe Bryant dies at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash

source. essentially sports

Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star, won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

LOS ANGELES (AP- Kobe Bryant inspired a generation of basketball players worldwide with sublime skills and unquenchable competitive fire.

He earned Los Angeles' eternal adoration during his two decades as the fierce soul of the beloved Lakers, and he was respected by basketball fans from every place with a hoop and a dream, including his native Philadelphia and Italy, his other childhood home.

Bryant was working to inspire his daughter’s and new generation through sports and telling the story when his next chapter ended shockingly early. Less than four years into his retirement.

Bryant, the 18-time All-Star who won five NBA championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career all with the Lakers died in a helicopter crash Sunday. He was 41.

The plane was crashed in the foggy hills above Calabasas, California, about 30 miles, downtown Los Angles.

A youth basketball tournament - the Mamba Cup - was scheduled for the second day of competition Sunday at the facility and Bryant had attended the opening day Saturday with Gianna.

Authorities said there wear nine people on the helicopter, and presumed that all are dead. But no names were released.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, had four daughters. He had been a vocal booster of women's sports since his retirement, coaching and mentoring basketball players around the world while also backing women's soccer and other endeavors.

 source: THE WEEK

Bryant retired as the third-leading scorer in NBA history with 33,643 points, all scored in Lakers purple and gold. The self-nicknamed Black Mamba was a prolific, gifted shooter with a sublime all-around game and the relentless, hard-edged work ethic that thrilled his fans and almost everyone else, even those who reviled him.

Taking cues from Michael Jordan, one of his idols, Bryant played with a swagger that compelled him to talk trash, to guard the toughest opponents, to play through pain and to demand the ball at the biggest moments of games.

He didn't always hit them, but Bryant never stopped trying.

Bryant held the No. 3 spot in the league scoring ranks until the day before his death when James passed him during the Lakers' game in Philadelphia.

He entered the NBA draft straight out of suburban Philly's Lower Merion High School in 1996 after a childhood spent partly in Italy, where his father, former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played professionally. Bryant was occasionally estranged from his now-65-year-old father, but reconciled.

Bryant spoke four languages and played a major role in the NBA's international growth over his two decades in the league, traveling the world and connecting with athletes in other sports and celebrities.