[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] NBA star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on the 26th (local time).
According to major foreign media, Bryant died when the helicopter he was riding in crashed in Calabasas, California. Calabasas is located about 48 km west of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that a total of five people died in the helicopter accident, and there were no survivors. They also added that a rapid response team was dispatched to the accident site to extinguish the fire.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the crashed helicopter was a Sikorsky S-76 model and that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate.
Kobe Bryant, son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 after graduating from high school, then immediately traded to the LA Lakers, where he played exclusively for 20 years until his retirement in 2016.
During those 20 years, he led the team to five NBA championships, was selected to the All-Star team 18 times, and was the scoring champion for two seasons. He earned numerous accolades including the 2008 regular season MVP, 2009 and 2010 playoff MVP, and four-time All-Star MVP.
His NBA career total points of 33,643 ranks fourth in NBA history, following Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and LeBron James.
The LA Lakers retired Bryant’s jersey numbers 8 and 24 in honor of his career.
Meanwhile, in 2003, Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old female employee at a resort in Colorado. Kobe later claimed the encounter was consensual, and prosecutors dropped felony sexual assault charges. However, the sexual assault case left a significant stain on his otherwise illustrious career.
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