World loses an icon as Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash

A sports legend and a pop culture icon is gone.

One of the NBA's greatest players, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, died in a helicopter crash that killed eight other people on Sunday morning in Calabasas, Calif. He was just 41.

A five-time NBA champion nicknamed "Black Mamba," Bryant was an 18-time All-Star during a 20-year career that began when he was drafted 13th in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft as a 17-year-old. He ranks fourth on the NBA's career scoring list with 33,643 points, a mark that was passed just yesterday by Lakers star LeBron James. Both of Bryant's uniform numbers -- Nos. 8 and 24 -- were retired by the Lakers and he remains the franchise's leader in points, three-pointers, steals and free throws made.

“Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames,” Bryant tweeted last night. “Much respect my brother.”

The National Basketball Players Association offered its condolences on Sunday as tributes poured in from around the world.

"We are stunned and devastated by the news of the sudden passing of Kobe Bryant," read the NBPA statement. "Words cannot express his impact on our Players, the NBA and the game of basketball. This is a monumental loss for the entire basketball community and our hearts are quite simply broken. We send love and prayers out to his wife, Vanessa, and the entire family."

His most-dominating game came with an 81-point showing vs. Toronto in 2006, a mark second only to Wilt Chamberlain's record 100-point game in 1962. He also was a two-time scoring champ, a former league MVP and a twelve-time All-Defensive Team player, too. Although injuries derailed his performances late in his career, he scored 60 points in his final game, a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016.

When it comes to cardboard, his arrival was in 1996-97 releases with more than 20 Rookie Cards from Upper Deck, Fleer and Topps. He was a long-time Upper Deck spokesman but joined forces with Panini America as an exclusive spokesman beginning in September 2009. He's appeared on more than 14,000 basketball cards since his arrival with more than 3,500 of them being certified autograph cards.

Another Lakers icon, Hall of Famer Jerry West, remembered Bryant to The Los Angeles Times.

“Particularly when he was young, to be a part of his life and to watch his career grow, watch him grow, this is one of the most tragic days of my life,” said West, who was the Lakers GM in 1996. “I know somewhere along the way I guess I’ll come to grips with it. But now I have all these different emotions regarding him. The things I watched him do on the basketball court, but more importantly he was going to make a difference off the court, and he was making a difference off the court. It’s so unexplainable. This is going to take a long time for me.”

His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played eight seasons in the NBA and was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers when Kobe was born -- but he lived in Italy as a kid as his dad continued playing in Europe. Bryant later was a star at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., before the Charlotte Hornets drafted him and traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Most recently, he had pursued various entertainment ventures -- he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Film with Dear Basketball two years ago -- and youth basketball programs as part of his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Also on the helicopter was his 13-year-old daughter, Giana, and they were heading to the Academy for a practice with another father and daughter, others not yet identified, as well as the pilot.

Bryant is eligible to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

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