https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, Bryant played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.
In November 1999, 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video "G'd Up". Bryant was in the building and working on his debut musical album. The two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000,[375] while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. To avoid media scrutiny, she finished high school through independent study. According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Bryant "loved her too much for one"
They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. The wedding was not attended by Bryant's parents, his two sisters, his longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, or his Laker teammates. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who was not African-American.[i][375] This disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, which ended when the couple's first daughter was born.[380]
Bryant was a practicing Catholic.
In 2013, Bryant had a legal disagreement with an auction house over memorabilia from his early years that his mother intended to auction. Pamela Bryant received $450,000 from the auction house for the items and claimed Bryant had given her the rights to the items he had remaining in her home. However, his lawyers asked the auction house to return the items to Bryant.[383] Before the scheduled trial, a settlement was reached allowing the sale of less than 10% of the original items. Bryant's parents apologized to him in a written statement, which also acknowledged the financial support Bryant had provided them in the past.[384][385]
In January 2002, Bryant bought a Mediterranean-style house for $4 million, located on a cul-de-sac in Newport Coast, Newport Beach.[386] He sold the house in May 2015.
The Bryants' first child, a daughter, was born in January 2003. The birth influenced Bryant to reconcile his differences with his parents. Due to an ectopic pregnancy, Vanessa suffered a miscarriage in the spring of 2005. Their second daughter, Gianna, was born in May 2006.On December 16, 2011, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and the couple requested joint custody of their daughters. On January 11, 2013, Bryant and his wife both announced via social media that they had called off their divorce.
In an early 2007 interview, it was revealed that Bryant still spoke Italian proficiently. He also conducted press interviews in Spanish. Bryant assigned himself the nickname of "Black Mamba", citing a desire for his basketball skills to mimic the eponymous snake's ability to "strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed, in rapid succession. During the 2012–13 season, he began referring to himself as "vino" to describe how his play had been aging like a fine wine.
In early December 2016, Vanessa gave birth to their third daughter, and in January 2019 the Bryants announced they were expecting a fourth daughter. The daughter was born in June 2019.
Bryant was a lifelong fan of his hometown NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles. He was also a fan of soccer teams Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester Cit
At 9:06 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on January 26, 2020, Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna (Gigi), Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, Altobelli's wife Keri, Altobelli's daughter Alyssa, Christina Mauser, an assistant girls basketball coach at Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, and three others departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, in a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter owned by Bryant. The helicopter was registered to the Fillmore-based Island Express Holding Corp., according to the California Secretary of State business database.
Due to light rain and foggy weather that morning, the LAPD helicopters and most air traffic was grounded. The flight tracker shows that the helicopter experienced issues while above the L.A. Zoo. The helicopter circled the area six times at an altitude of around 850 feet. At 9:30 a.m. the pilot contacted the Burbank Airports control tower notifying the tower of the situation. At 9:30 a.m. the helicopter experienced extreme fog and turned south towards the mountains. At 9:40 a.m. the helicopter climbed altitude from 1,200 to 2,000 feet (370 to 610 m) flying at 161 knots (298 km/h; 185 mph).
The FlightAware flight details can be found here for N72EX. The FAA registration for N72EX can be found here FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry.
At 9:45 a.m, the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and caught on fire. At 9:47 a.m. authorities were called. The helicopter had passed over Boyle Heights, near Dodger Stadium, and circled over Glendale during the flight. Personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department attended the scene. The fire had been extinguished by 10:30 a.m. None of the nine passengers on board the helicopter survived. Initial reports indicated that the helicopter crashed in the hills above Calabasas in heavy fog. Witnesses reported hearing a helicopter struggling before crashing.[
Kobe Bryant, in his own words
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svQ7KxTnk5E
Sports world and beyond reacts after tragic death of Kobe Bryant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZIpOUzNEmI
NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies in California helicopter crash at age 41
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdpkCSuEZXw
NBA pays tribute to Kobe Bryant | 2019-20 NBA Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCfKlTP2dqg
Carlos Boozer reacts to the death of Kobe Bryant | SportsCenter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmNkleXDE3k
Stephen A. says Kobe was just getting started on life after basketball | SC with SVP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFzttv_MmU