A helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020
claimed the lives of nine people, including NBA legend Kobe Bryant and one of his children, Gianna Bryant. Bryant’s daughter was 13 years old, and he was 41.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were travelling to a youth basketball event when the chopper crashed. There were nine persons aboard the chopper, but Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced at a news conference that there were no survivors.
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Who was Gianna Bryant?
Gianna Bryant was born on May 1, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Bryant grew up with her two younger sisters, Bianka and Capri, and her older sister Natalia. Her father is African-American, and her mother is Mexican. She was also the great-niece of former basketball player John “Chubby” Cox and the granddaughter of former NBA player Joe Bryant. She first took up basketball because of her father, Kobe. She would frequently shoot about with the squad during warm-ups when he took her to his games.
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In the fourth grade, Bryant saw a Los Angeles Sparks game on a field trip and vowed to play in the WNBA. Bryant was coached by her father at the Mamba Sports Academy, where she played basketball, until their terrible passing. She participated in the club’s competitive squad from the U-10 to the U-15 age groups. Even the day before the accident, at the Mamba Sports Academy, Bryant was coaching Gianna’s basketball team. A witness told the New York Post, “He had a clipboard, he was drawing up plays and talking to [the players].” In honour of Sydney Leroux, a member of the US women’s soccer team, she played with the number 2.
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On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter carrying Gianna Bryant, her father, six close family friends, and the pilot took off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, at 9:06 a.m. PST. The helicopter crashed and caught fire at 9:45 a.m. near Calabasas, which is located about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. All eight occupants—including both father-daughter duo and the other seven—died.
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Bryant’s high school, Harbor Day School, retired her jersey number 2 on February 5, 2020. Bryant’s jersey number was worn by Team LeBron on February 16 during the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant, and Payton Chester were designated honorary draught picks for the 2020 WNBA draught on April 17, 2020. The Kobe and Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award was also presented by the league.
