It’s gone too soon. Kobe BryantHe died at 41 on January 26, 2020. However, he left behind a significant legacy. The NBA star and his 13-year old daughter were both left behind. Gianna, was killed in a fiery helicopter accident in Calabasas (California).
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, nine people were aboard the helicopter that crashed. None survived. They were reportedly on their way to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for Gianna’s basketball game. Kobe was her coach.
The five-time champion spoke out about coaching after his retirement and how important it was to himself.
“You got to do what you love to do,” he told USA Today SportsIn a profile published Thursday, January 23. “I love telling stories. I love to inspire kids and give them tools that will help them. … Coaching youth sports is so important to take very seriously because you’re helping the emotional [development] of young kids, so it’s understanding not to be overcritical and understanding that [there] are going to be mistakes.”
During a 2018 interview Jimmy Kimmel LiveHe spoke out about his daughter and her dreams of becoming a basketball superstar.
“The best thing that happens is when we go out and fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me and say, ‘Hey you’ve got to have a boy, you and [wife] Vanessa [Bryant] have to have a boy, somebody to carry on the tradition, the legacy,’” he told Kimmel. “She’s like, ‘Hey, This is what I got. Don’t need no boy for that. I got this.’”
Vanessa, Bianka, and Capri survived Kobe.
Scroll through the timeline below for some of the many highlights of the athlete’s life:
