Photo Gallery: NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies in chopper crash — In pics
Kobe Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players in basketball, was killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday. He was 41. He was an 18-times NBA All-Star who wore the jersey numbers 24 and 8 - both of which were retired by the Lakers. He is survived by wife Vanessa, with whom he had four daughters.
Kobe Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players in basketball, was killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday. He was 41. He was an 18-times NBA All-Star who wore the jersey numbers 24 and 8 - both of which were retired by the Lakers. He is survived by wife Vanessa, with whom he had four daughters.
Kobe Bryant called his daughter Gianna 'Mambacita' after his own court nickname, 'Black Mamba', confident she would follow in his footsteps and become a professional basketball player. On Sunday, the 41-year-old five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist died with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash northwest of Los Angeles as they pursued that dream. (Reuters photo)
Among those internationally recognized athletes known simply by their first names, Bryant was an avid supporter of soccer and women`s basketball and spoke Italian, having spent part of his youth in Italy, where his father, former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played several seasons professionally. (Reuters photo)
