NBA icon Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and others died tragically in a helicopter accident in Southern California on Jan. 26, 2020, while on the road to a baseball championship.
Bryant and his daughter had been honored annually in a star-studded public ministry on Feb. 24, 2020, at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, where Bryant spent the majority of his two-decade livelihood with the Los Angeles Lakers.
On Tuesday, the sport world responded to the one-year anniversary of Bryant’s passing.
“Thank you God for letting me love @kobebryant for 20 years since a fantastic basketball player, athlete, husband, dad, philanthropist, mentor and instructor of this sport to a lot of people of all ages, closest buddy to Rob Pelinka, and brother to @jeaniebuss. Laker Nation we’ll always remember the genius, the legend, and also the mamba mindset of #8#24,” Lakers legend Magic Johnson wrote in an Instagram post.
Former teammate Pau Gasol, who won two championships with Bryant throughout their time also shared his ideas on Instagram, devoting a post on Kobe and Gianna.
“Your soul, your driveway, your fantasy, your love… proceeds to glow in my life and in a number of more. Pictures, videos, really specific moments continue to be shared with countless people who have admired you and loved one in their own manner, reminding me how amazingly lucky I’ve been to discuss a few of those moments with you.
“I am hoping you and Gigi are grinning down seeing how powerful, sweet and amazing that your girls are… they’re growing so quick Lady… Now we respect and celebrate the two of you, you’ve left us with so much…, however if it is not how we’d like things to become, you are, and always will be, at our hearts”
Here are a few other responses from athletes throughout basketball, in addition to other significant sports.
Bryant, who entered the league straight from Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, spent his full 20-year career with the Lakers, where he had been a five-time NBA winner and two-time NBA Finals MVP.
The”Black Mamba” has been an 18-time NBA All-Star (second all-time just behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), 15-time All-NBA choice (connected with Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan for its maximum all-time), also 12-time NBA All-Defensive honoree, that comprises nine All-Defensive first-team collections (connected with Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton for the most ever). Bryant, with two jersey numbers retired from the Lakers — No. 8 and No. 24 — would be the all time top scorer (33,643 points) in franchise history.
Bryant, the primary guard to play with 20 or more seasons in the league, scored a career-high 81 points in 2006 from the Toronto Raptors, that’s that the second-most points scored in one game in NBA history — Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a match again in 1962.
