NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. TMZ Sports was the first to report the news, and it was later confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Wojnarowski also reported that Bryant’s daughter, Gianna, with whom he attended a recent game at Barclays Center between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks, was with her father in the crash. Bryant was 41. His daughter was 13.
The entire league has been hit hard by the news of Bryant’s death. Among those is Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who had a close relationship with the Laker legend.
While Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks is expected to go on, Irving will not participate, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Nets' Kyrie Irving will miss Sunday's game against New York due to personal reasons. Irving and Kobe Bryant shared a close friendship.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 26, 2020
An emotional Kenny Atkinson addressed Bryant’s death before Sunday’s game:
On behalf of the Nets organization, we’d like to express our sincerest condolences to the Bryant family and everybody affected by the tragedy. … As an organization, we’re devastated. Our players are devastated. … We have a player that was very close to Kobe. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, also. Just a tough time for the NBA, for all of us.
#Nets Coach Kenny Atkinson’s statement on Kobe’s passing: pic.twitter.com/JtaJJQQo7v
— Michael Grady (@Grady) January 26, 2020