The basketball player died in a crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday morning.
Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday morning, ET confirms. The former basketball player and NBA star was 41 years old.
According to TMZ, Bryant “was traveling with at least three other people in his private helicopter when it went down.” His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, was on board as well and died in the accident, the website reports.
On Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed that nine died in the crash and that there were no survivors.
An investigation is ongoing.
The son of Joe Bryant, a former NBA player as well, played with the Los Angeles Lakers for all 20 seasons of his career, which included being an 18-time All-Star and 15-time member of the All-NBA Team. In 2009 and 2010, the Lakers won NBA championships, and Bryant earned the Finals MVP Award after both series. He retired from the sport in 2016. Bryant was the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history with 33,643, surpassed in the rankings by LeBron James just one day before his death.
In 2018, he won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball.
After the unexpected news broke, celebrities and athletes took to social media to express their grief and to pay tribute to the late athlete.
Bryant is survived by his wife, Vanessa, and their three other children -- Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months.
ET has reached out to Bryant's rep for comment.
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