Kobe Bryant, TMZ: "Died in a helicopter crash" (Photo Ansa)
LOS ANGELES – Mourning sports world: Kobe Bryant has died . He was 41 years old. The former American basketball player was on board a helicopter with his 13 year old daughter Gianna Maria, the pilot, a teammate of Gianna Maria, who had been accompanied by her dad, when the aircraft crashed in Calabasas, near Los Angeles, California. There are no survivors, TMZ reports. At the moment the causes of the accident are unknown but the US media have spoken of particularly difficult weather conditions, with a thick fog disturbing the visibility of the pilot.
According to one hypothesis, Kobe, her daughter and the other passengers were heading to the Los Angeles Lakers' sports facility, Staples Center, to attend the Grammys ceremony scheduled for late Los Angeles afternoon. According to another hypothesis, they were going to a game of Kobe Bryant's daughter. This hypothesis relies on the fact that his teammate with dad was also on board.
Kobe Bryant used to travel aboard a helicopter, TMZ remembers, ever since he played with the Lakers. He leaves his wife Vanessa and their other three daughters: Natalia, Bianca and Capri, the youngest, born in June 2019.
Kobe Bryant is dead, he was one of the strongest NBA players of all time.
Kobe was considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Born in Philadelphia on August 23, 1978, he had mostly played the role of shooting guard. He had grown up, in sport, in Italy, and throughout his life he had played in the Los Angeles Lakers , with whom he had won five titles. He had participated in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics with the US national team, winning the gold medal in all three events.
In 2018 he also won the Academy Award together with the director and animator Glen Keane for the animated short film Dear Basketball. (Sources: TMZ, Los Angeles Times).
Source: Blitz Quotidiano