Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna Die In Helicopter Crash: What We Know

Kobe Bryant, legendary basketball player and also a star for the Los Angeles Lakers, died Sunday (January 26) in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, TMZ reports.


TMZ reported that the 41-year-old father of four was traveling to the Mamba Sports Academy for a practice event as soon as, at some point, the helicopter crashed to the ground, causing a fire. The Los Angeles Times reports that eyewitnesses on the ground could hear sputtering coming from the helicopter’s engine.


The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed that there were several casualties, without survivors. It has also been confirmed that one of Bryant’s daughters, Gianna Maria Onore, was aboard the helicopter. Conflicting reports have also speculated the deaths of other celebrities; MTV News will update this story as more data is confirmed. In a press conference, the Sheriff's Department mentioned there were eight people onboard the helicopter moreover to the pilot, yet that the department would not be releasing names up until immediately following the coroner completed their work, and next-of-kin had been notified.


A superstar straight out of high school, Bryant was drafted to the Charlotte Hornets as a first-round pick in the NBA draft in 1996; he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers the next year. He absolutely dominated the court over the course of his 21-year career, becoming a five-time national champion, the scoring leader for two back-to-back seasons in 2006 and 2007, and the all-time leading scorer for the Lakers at only 34 years old. He was the fourth-highest scoring NBA player of all time, and banked 33,643 points over the course of his career.


Bryant’s career was also marred by allegations of sexual assault; in 2003, a staff member at a Colorado hotel where Bryant had stayed accused him of rape. At the time, Bryant mentioned he considered what had transpired was a consensual encounter; he denied the allegations of sexual assault. The case was later dismissed soon following the alleged victim resisted to testify in court, and Bryant issued a statement apologizing to her.


He retired in April 2016, soon following the Lakers won a game against the Utah Jazz, 106-96. In December 2017, the Lakers retired his jersey numbers, both 8 and 24, for the rest of franchise history. Moreover to getting into venture capitalism and releasing a book, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play in 2018, Bryant continued to work with players to support them improve their basketball skills, in a task to give back to the game that he loved so much.


In several ways, 13-year-old Gianna was his legacy; a student at well known Los Angeles private school Sierra Canyon, she also played basketball. Bryant had three other daughters with partner Vanessa: 17-year-old Natalia, 3-year-old Bianka, and 7-month-old Capri, per People. It was Gigi’s love of the sport that reignited Bryant to watch the game; he told podcast all of the Smoke taking her to a recent Laker game “was the initial time I was seeing the game through her eyes. It wasn’t me sitting there, you know, as an athlete or a player or something like that, and you also know it’s like, about me, and I don’t like that. It was her, she was having such a good time.”


Fans, basketball players, and celebrities around the world paid their respects to Bryant as news of his death was confirmed.


This is a developing story. MTV News will update it as we know more.