Dallas Basketball

Kobe Bryant's Daughter Gianna, 13, Also Dead in Helicopter Crash: 'I Was Seeing The Game Through Her Eyes'

Kobe Bryant's Daughter Gianna, 13, Also Dead in Helicopter Crash: 'I Was Seeing The Game Through Her Eyes'

Mike Fisher

Iconic athlete Kobe Bryant was killed in a fiery helicopter crash in California on Sunday morning - and multiple reports now say that 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, is also dead, as she was apparently among those on the copter when it went down in the hills of Calabasas.

Earlier this month, the former Los Angeles Lakers star, who retired in 2016, revealed that he had recently started watching more basketball because of his daughter.

“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that’s she’s into basketball, we watch every night,” Kobe told the podcast All the Smoke. “We just had so much fun because it was the first time I was seeing the game through her eyes.''

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Bryant and Gianna, the oldest of his four daughters, were reportedly on his way to a travel basketball game with another player and parent.

Bryant was an 18-time All-Star and who helped the Lakers to five NBA championships in his 20-year NBA career. He retired after the 2015-16 season, having spent his entire career with the Lakers. The franchise retired both his No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers in December 2017.

Bryant, now being mourned by the sports world and beyond, in retirement was becoming a sort of "ambassador'' of the game. He is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. ... all of whom must now deal with the tragedy of two losses, a father and a daughter who were bonding through basketball.

“It was her,'' Kobe said a month ago, explaining his attendance at NBA games. "She was having such a good time.”

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks since 1990. He has for more than 20 years served as the overseer of DallasBasketball.com, the granddaddy of Mavs news websites.

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