ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash Sunday afternoon. Nine others were killed in the crash, CNN reported.
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Kobe Bryant memorials Orlando Magic fans hold up signs honoring Kobe Bryant during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)
Kobe Bryant memorials Candles spell "Kobe" and "Gigi" at a memorial near Staples Center after the death of Los Angeles Laker legend Kobe Bryant, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Kobe Bryant memorials Bryan Stange, right, stands with his family holding a sign near the scene of a helicopter crash that killed former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
Kobe Bryant memorials A tribute to Kobe Bryant was shown on the screen before the start of an NBA basketball game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)
Kobe Bryant memorials YG, from left, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, DJ Khaled and Meek Mill point to a screen showing Nipsey Hussle and Kobe Bryant during a tribute at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Kobe Bryant memorials A memorial near Staples Center after the death of Laker legend Kobe Bryant Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Kobe Bryant memorials Orange Coast College students and friends of baseball coach John Altobelli lay flowers at home plate at the Orange Coast College baseball field in Costa Mesa on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Coach Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were killed in the helicopter crash that also killed former Lakers star Kobe Bryant. (Leonard Ortiz/The Orange County Register via AP)
Kobe Bryant memorials A makeshift memorial was created on home plate Orange Coast College baseball field in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 for Orange Coast College baseball Coach Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa who were killed in the helicopter crash that also killed former Lakers star Kobe Bryant. (Leonard Ortiz/The Orange County Register via AP)
Kobe Bryant memorials Fans honor the memory of Kobe Bryant with a moment of silence before an NBA basketball game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)
Kobe Bryant memorials Fans mourn the loss of Kobe Bryant in front of La Live across from Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan, 26, 2020. Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who won five championships and became one of the greatest basketball players of his generation during a 20-year career with the Lakers, died in a helicopter crash Sunday. (Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP)
Kobe Bryant memorials Fans hold up signs in memory of Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash in California, during the second half of an NBA basketball game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Indiana Pacers in Portland, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. The Blazers won 139-129. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
Kobe Bryant memorials Fans of Kobe Bryant mourn at a sidewalk memorial at LALive area across from Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, after word of the Lakers star's death in a helicopter crash, in downtown Los Angeles Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman)
Kobe Bryant memorials Alicia Keys, second left, and members of Boys II Men, from left, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman, sing "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" during a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, seen on screen, at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
There were no survivors, officials said.
The crash happened around 10 a.m. PST, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Here are six things to know about Kobe Bryant:
1. He only played with one team -- the LA Lakers, Sports Illustrated reported. He was an 18-time All-Star and 11-time All-NBA first team. During his career, which spanned 20 years in the NBA, he scored 33,643 points.
2. He was third on the NBA all-time scoring list until hours before his death. On Saturday night, LeBron James needed 18 points to leapfrog over Bryant, and he did so with a layup in the third quarter in the game between the Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers, according to SI.
LeBron James gets to the bucket to move up to 3rd on the all-time scoring list! pic.twitter.com/almofNRKrg
Before the game, Bryant told USA Today: “You should be happy for the person that comes after you to be able to surpass things that you’ve done. It’s kind of juvenile to think or to behave any other way.”
3. Bryant won an Oscar. A poem he wrote was turned into a film. “Dear Basketball” won the Oscar for best animated short in 2018, The New York Times reported. Bryant described his movie as “the emotional journey of having a dream, believing it’ll come true; it comes true, then the realization that you have to wake up from that dream and move on to another.”
The film had some big names in the movie industry behind it -- Oscar-winning composer John Williams and former Disney animator Glen Keane, the Times reported.
90th Annual Academy Awards - Press Room Filmmaker Kobe Bryant, winner of the Best Animated Short Film award for 'Dear Basketball,' poses in the press room during the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
4. Bryant’s legendary status has been cemented in Hollywood literally. He pressed his hands and feet into concrete for Grauman’s Chinese Theater in 2011. He was the first athlete to have the honor, KCBS reported.
Kobe Bryant Hand And Footprint Ceremony At Grauman's Chinese Theater Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers sets his feet in cement during his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on February 19, 2011for the Grauman's Chinese Theater. Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) (Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
5. Bryant took the helicopter frequently from Orange County to every home game in Los Angeles, GQ reported in 2010. He used it because he couldn’t sit in a car for the two-hour drive to the Staples Center. The helicopter “ensures that he gets to the Staples Centre feeling fresh, that his body is warm and loose and fluid as mercury when he steps onto the court," according to GQ.
This 2010 @GQMagazine profile of Bryant begins with him boarding his helicopter to a game. I remember thinking this was someone who had risen to the point where a whole machine swept away the earthly difficulties between him and what he did best. https://t.co/n7SvLnf0uvpic.twitter.com/qaTtuo0fHl
6. In 2017, the Lakers retired both of Bryant’s jersey numbers No. 8 and No. 24 during a game against Golden State. Before the ceremony, the team showed “Dear Basketball.”
Los Angeles Lakers v Philadelphia 76ers January 26: Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 26, 1996 at the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser /NBAE via Getty Images) (Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images)
