Kobe Bryant, daughter, seven others killed in crash

Former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Sunday, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others. Bryant was 41. Authorities have not officially identified the other people killed.

What caused the crash? Investigators are still looking into the incident, but the helicopter flew through dense fog before it went down on a rugged hillside in Calabasas, Calif. CNN reported the aircraft was carrying passengers to one of Gianna Bryant’s basketball games, likely at her father’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

How will Bryant be remembered? He spent his entire 20-year professional career in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, winning five NBA championships. He retired in 2016 as the third leading scorer in NBA history. A rape accusation against Bryant by a 19-year-old woman in 2003 became a defining moment in his life off the court. After an investigation, police dropped charges against him. He went on to make a public apology to the woman and later settled a civil lawsuit with her. Bryant turned to his Catholic faith and the counsel of a priest through the ordeal. He and his wife, Vanessa, stayed together and reconciled after she filed for divorce in 2011. They had four daughters: Gianna, 17-year-old Natalia, 3-year-old Bianka, and Capri, who was born in June 2019.

Dig deeper: Read more about Bryant’s Catholicism and his relationship with Gianna, a basketball prodigy.