RealGM

Killed in helicopter crash

Wow. Tragic. He was a Laker, and man did he torch Portland - guy could have averaged 50 a game if he was a Blazer the way he played at the Rose Garden. So as a fan I was never a Kobe fan. But holy hell if I didn't respect the guy. And his contributions to Olympic basketball... My fondest memory of him will be that Redeem Team championship game versus Spain. Rest in peace to a legend.

It might be worse. I heard a report his children died as well.

Edit: Most accounts are saying his kids were not in the helicopter.

Edit: it's confirmed his 13 yo daughter was killed as well. They were traveling to her basketball practice.

Tremendous sorrow in the sports world and the NBA. Prayers for the rest of the Bryant family

Can we edit the title of the thread? Kobe dead just doesn't sound very warm, compassionate, empathetic, etc.

DaVoiceMaster wrote:Can we edit the title of the thread? Kobe dead just doesn't sound very warm, compassionate, empathetic, etc.

Sure, what should it say?

Sad day for basketball fans. He was a legend and a top notch competitor. Always liked that we made it tough on him in Portland, that sort of rivalry makes the game more fun.

Appreciate everyone being respectful and showing remembrance for a true player, even if he was in the wrong color jersey.

Thanks d-train!

I was never a fan of Kobe, but this is a sad day for the sports community, his family, friends, fans, etc.

Kobe and MJ are the greatest competitors I have ever seen in the sport of basketball. Lebron, and Wilt had more talent but nobody wanted to win more than Kobe and MJ

Kobe's 13 yo daughter Gianna was also killed.

The other 2 passengers that perished were another player and parent, according to Woj. I assume that's a teammate of Gianna's and her parent.

Completely shocking news. The fact that his daughter was also on the helicopter is horrifying.

Ugh. As a dad myself, the news of his daughter's passing has me feel sick.

While I will always loathe the Lakers and everything they stand for, I had nothing but respect for Kobe dude was a competitor and really pushed himself to try to be the best.

This is a very tragic event to a great basketball player and his family. I also will point out Kobe was the first one to give Lillard props after he played him in his first ever NBA game I really respected him for that.

JasonStern wrote:Ugh. As a dad myself, the news of his daughter's passing has me feel sick.

I'm certainly no authority on what people should care about most. I personally am more moved by the loss of a 13 year old girl than a 41 year old man. I believe Kobe would agree. When I think about the loss suffered by Vanessa, I feel 100x more pain for the loss of her young daughter. Of course, every life is valuable, but 9 lives were lost and there is barely a mention of anyone other than Kobe. I suppose the answer is we knew Kobe. I didn't know Kobe and his basketball playing days were over long ago. It's terrible he died so young, but I feel more empathy for the loss of his 13 year old daughter. I feel as much empathy for the 7 names I don't know as I do for Kobe.

I suppose it's fine if people want to reflect on Kobe's life and barely mention the other loss of life. There is no harm done by it. The whole thing will soon be forgotten except by Vanessa and other immediate family of all the 9 lost lives.

As a Blazer fan, I hated Kobe (fandom hate, not real hate). That hate obviously mostly stemmed from frustration of losing to him and the Lakers, which is also one of the reasons I respected him. I never would have predicted being as emotional as I am today hearing Kobe has died, but here I am, watching Kobe stuff for hours and just feeling like ****. It additionally sucks that his daughter died, as well as several others.

d-train wrote:

JasonStern wrote:Ugh. As a dad myself, the news of his daughter's passing has me feel sick.

I'm certainly no authority on what people should care about most. I personally am more moved by the loss of a 13 year old girl than a 41 year old man. I believe Kobe would agree. When I think about the loss suffered by Vanessa, I feel 100x more pain for the loss of her young daughter. Of course, every life is valuable, but 9 lives were lost and there is barely a mention of anyone other than Kobe. I suppose the answer is we knew Kobe. I didn't know Kobe and his basketball playing days were over long ago. It's terrible he died so young, but I feel more empathy for the loss of his 13 year old daughter. I feel as much empathy for the 7 names I don't know as I do for Kobe.

I suppose it's fine if people want to reflect on Kobe's life and barely mention the other loss of life. There is no harm done by it. The whole thing will soon be forgotten except by Vanessa and other immediate family of all the 9 lost lives.

It's a tragedy all around, d-train. No single person's life is worth more than others, but it's not surprising that click-bait for-profit media companies focus on what generates click-bait. The fact that other children died is outright horrific.

Ionescu and Oregon effect - Kobe's involvement with the program and time spent mentoring players, I was seriously hoping Gigi would spend at least a season at Oregon and dethrone the goat (great use for our lottery pick, Blazers!). But I'd gladly have her be a Husky and torch Oregon for 70 if it meant she got to live.

Whole thing is sad.

Brutal. No words