Kevin Winter/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — NBA icon and Oscar-winner Kobe Bryant was killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles, ABC News has confirmed. He was 41.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, there were five people on board the helicopter and no one survived the crash, which happened at around 10 a.m. local time and sparked a fire.
The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter crashed under unknown circumstances, a spokesperson from the National Transportation Safety Board told ABC News.
Bryant was drafted to the NBA out of high school in 1996 and spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships. He was awarded NBA MVP in 2008 and NBA Finals MVP in 2009 and 2010.
He won gold medals as a member of the U.S. men’s basketball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
LeBron James surpassed Bryant’s all-time scoring record on Saturday during the Lakers’ game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Bryant tweeted at James congratulating him on beating his record.
In 2018, Bryant won an Academy award for his animated short Dear Basketball, based on a poem he wrote in 2015 when he announced his retirement.
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