Some of the saddest news in a long time for anything pertaining to the NBA or Chicago Bulls is the sudden passing of legend Kobe Bryant.
A legend in the NBA realm, former Los Angeles Lakers all-time great shooting guard Kobe Bryant, might be gone way too early. The reports of his possible passing in a helicopter crash this weekend are still just coming out, and not that many national media outlets confirmed it early on after the original news surfaced. Fans in and around the NBA, including those of the Chicago Bulls, would be completely taken aback by this news if it is confirmed.
The LA Times did give additional insight into the helicopter crash later on Jan. 26.
The original report that Kobe passed in that helicopter crash in Calabasas this weekend came from TMZ on Jan. 26. But nothing was confirmed for about the first 30 minutes after TMZ first dropped that report, until ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski later confirmed the news on his Twitter timeline.
Kobe Bryant is among those dead in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles, a source confirms to ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 26, 2020
Kobe is a legend forever in the minds of NBA fans, and his reported passing at 41-years-old in California is one of the most tragic things to happen in 2020. He leaves behind four daughters and his wife Vanessa Bryant.
Just one day after the Lakers superstar forward LeBron James passed Kobe on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, the somber news came about. LeBron passed Kobe on the all-time scoring list in a Lakers loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 25.
When LeBron passed Kobe among the all-time NBA points leaders last night, he Tweeted out his respects to the new Lakers face of the franchise. That came just 16 hours ago.
Moreover, Kobe was an 18-time NBA All-Star selection, five-time NBA Champion, 2007-08 MVP, two-time Finals MVP, two-time scoring champ, and 15-time All-NBA honoree. He was a sure fire Hall-of-Famer that didn’t retire from the NBA all that long ago.
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother 💪🏾 #33644
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
Some current and former Bulls stars Tweeted out their respects to the passing of Kobe on Jan. 26. Shooting guard Zach LaVine Tweeted out his thoughts and prayers to the Bryant family this afternoon, as did Hall-of-Fame forward Scottie Pippen.
More then just basketball man he has 4 daughters... life is crazy. Thoughts and prayers to his family.
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) January 26, 2020
I’m stunned. Words can’t even come close to describing it. Just an incredibly sad and tragic day.
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) January 26, 2020
How this happened and why such a legend was taken from us so soon is hard to believe. He was 41-years-old and just ended his NBA career less than five years ago and he was one of the best NBA players of the 2000’s and 2010’s.
This has to be some of the saddest news to come about in the NBA landscape in a long time. The sudden passing of Bryant shows how short life can be and his memory truly deserves to live on forever.