On 26th January 2020, Sunday morning, a piece of news emerged on the internet that left the whole world and the basketball player in shock. It was a story that broke millions of hearts and fans all over the world felt sorrow. The basketball legend Kobe Bryant along with his 13 years old daughter Gianna, also an emerging young talent in the basketball world, both died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Calif. Legend Kobe and his daughter were travelling, when due to bad weather and extreme fog the helicopter lost its balance. The helicopter crashed in the dense forest of Calabasas.
The basketball legend Kobe Bean Bryant also called Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 23rd August 1978. Bryant’s father Joe Bryant was also a former NBA player. After his father retired from NBA in 1984, he took his family to Italy where he played in Italian League. Kobe spent his early life in Italy, where he received his early education. In 1991, Bryant’s family returned to Philadelphia, where he went to Lower Merion High School and joined the basketball team. He won the “National player of the year” award for many years.
Basketball Career:
Kobe Bryant Basketball Player
After graduating from college, he made himself eligible for the NBA draft. Charlotte Hornets at first chose him to play with them and then he moved to Lakers and performed his best. In 1996-1997 season, while playing basketball with his team Lakers, he was declared the second youngest NBA player in history. With his talent and hard work he proved his merit and skills and became a part of NBA All-Star Games. His success didn’t stop here, and while playing his second season in Los Angeles, he became the youngest All-Star in NBA history and at the age of 19 years only.
In 2001, he married Vanessa Laine, and together they raised four daughters Natalia Diamante, Gianna Maria-Onore, Bianka, and Capri. He was the most valuable player in 2008. With his efforts, he took his team to NBA finals where they lost to the Boston Celtics. In 2009, the Lakers played against Orlando Magic in the NBA finals and won the championship. Later the Lakers played another match and won their second straight title after they defeated the Celtics.
Legend Kobe Bryant’s injuries and his struggle:
In the years 2008 and 2012, Bryant played in the Olympics with his team members Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, and many other strong players. He with his won consecutive gold medals. The next year in April 2013, Bryant suffered a split Achilles tendon. In the season of 2013-14, he worked hard to maintain his position. Bryant despite his injury returned to the court and performed well. But during the season, he fractured his knee. Even after this misfortune, Kobe got ranked higher than Michael Jordan. This happened for the third time ever in the NBA scoring list issued in 2014. The next year didn’t go well as well and for the third consecutive year in a row, his season ended with an injury when in January 2015, he sustained a torn rotator cuff.
Retirement from his passion:
Even after all these injuries, legend Bryant tried to continue his career as a basketball player and performed his best. However, while he was playing the seasons of 2015-2016, he struggled to manage his position and decided to take retirement. After the end of the season, Bryant finally took retirement and wrote that this season was all he left with. In a website named as The Player’s Tribune, he said that his heart and mind can still handle the excitement. But his body is well aware of the fact that it is the time to retire from his career. This goodbye left everyone in shock.
On 13th April 2016, this legendary basketball player played his last match. In this match, he scored 60 and made his team win the game. This match was Bryant’s sixth match where he scored a total of 60. After the end of his winning game, he spoke to the crowd and his fans. He told the crowd that he really couldn’t believe how fast these 20 long years of playing basketball went by and he felt the blessing that how his fans and team had been with him through thick and thin. Bryant got retirement from NBA and started a new phase of life when he turned his attention to various business ventures.
Father-daughter relation:
Gianna Bryant, second of his four daughters, had the same passion and love for basketball as her father did. Just like her father, this 13-year old was an amazingly talented basketball player. With the help of her father as a personnel coach, she aspired to fill in his shoes and continue the legacy. Kobe Bryant also had high expectations from his daughter. He always said that she was something else and that she would also earn a right name for the family by continuing his legacy. Unfortunately, none of them lived to see this happen.
Both the basketball legend and his daughter shared the same love and passion for the sport. They attended many basketball games together. After he retired from the competition, Kobe Bryant shifted his attention to investments and other businesses, but his daughter rekindled his passion for basketball. This 41-year-old six times NBA champion had been coaching Gianna’s middle school team since his retirement.
Death:
Kobe Bryant’s Death
NBA reported that the legend and the 13-year-old emerging basketball talent were headed to a basketball game on Sunday where Gianna was playing, and Kobe was coaching her and her team. The father and daughter were going to participate in a basketball tournament for young players at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks. They were onboard a Sikorsky S-76, and on the way, their helicopter crashed in the city of Calabasas, west of Los Angeles and left no survivors. There were nine people aboard; all died in the crash. Among the passengers was the pilot Ara Zobayan, Bryant and his daughter, Gianna’s basketball teammate Alyssa Altobelli, her mother Keri, and her father John who was a baseball coach, Christina Mauser a school basketball assistant coach, Payton Chester who was another teammate of Gianna and Payton’s mother Sarah.
So far, the exact cause of the crash is not clear, and officials and investigators are still working on the case. According to the witnesses and the weather reports, there were foggy conditions at the time of the crash. However, according to the NTSB, it could take a year or longer before it issues a report on the probable cause of the misfortunate incident.
