The World loses a Legend in Kobe Bryant

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Lakers at Wizards 12/2/15 Photo via KeithAllisonPhoto.com

Luke Vazquez, Fall Editor

The World loses a Legend

This past Sunday, the world lost one of the greatest NBA players off all time. In a tragic helicopter crash, Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and the other seven passengers. 

The foggy conditions and technical problems may be what caused the crash. Kobe Bryant is widely considered one of the best basketball players of all time, and he averaged an astounding 25 points per game. 

But he was  much more than just a basketball legend. Off the court, he was a father of four and a role model to many people, from small children to the elderly. After his retirement in 2016, he spent lots of time coaching his daughter’s basketball team, and released an animated short, named “Dear Basketball,” that won a Grammy. 

He was a great storyteller, did a lot for homeless youth around Los Angeles, and donated to many schools, including Lebron James’s IPROMISESchool. He also contributed to kids through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. On multiple occasions, he has teamed up with Make-a-Wish to hang out with kids suffering from illnesses, and raise awareness for life threading diseases, such as Cancer and ALS. 

Kobe’s daughter, Gianna, nicknamed Gigi, had a bright future in the sport of basketball. Many people believed she would make it to the WNBA when she got older, and she was the star of her AAU basketball team, coached by Kobe Bryant, and was explosive on the court. 

Kobe often talked about her love for basketball, and that she was an avid fan and loved nothing more than watching and playing the sport. She attended some NBA games this year, mostly for the Atlanta Hawks, to see her favorite player, Trey Jones, play.

They were on their way with two other families and one of Gigi’s teammates when the helicopter went down, tragically taking 9 lives away from us too soon. The world will never forget the Legend that is Kobe Bryant, and the other victims of the crash.