On Sunday (January 26), US basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Maria-Onore Bryant, were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
The father and daughter were on their way to a basketball tournament at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks where Kobe was due to coach and Gianna was expected to play.
WATCH BELOW: Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna Killed In Helicopter Crash
Tributes poured in for the five-time NBA champion who leaves behind his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and three other daughters, 17-year-old Natalia, three-year-old Bianka and seven-month-old Capri.
Kobe and Gianna were travelling alongside seven other passengers in the helicopter who also lost their lives.
Sarah and Payton Chester
Sarah Chester and her 13-year-old daughter, Payton, were also onboard the helicopter.
According to The New York Times, Payton had played alongside Gianna on Bryant’s basketball team for a number of years and planned to pursue the sport at high school and college.
“She had this sweetest soul, the kindest, most gentlest person you would ever meet,” Payton’s uncle, Andy George, told The San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
Her mother, Sarah, also had two 16-year-old sons.
“She was everything to her family, to our family,” George continued. “Anytime I needed anything, she was the person I went to.”
RELATED: Tributes Pour In For Kobe Bryant And His Daughter
John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli
Head baseball coach at Orange Coast College, John Altobelli, was also killed in the crash alongside his wife, Keri, and their youngest daughter, Alyssa, who also played on Gianna’s basketball team.
“John meant so much to not only Orange Coast College, but to baseball,” Coast Athletic Director Jason Kehler said in a statement. “He truly personified what it means to be a baseball coach. The passion that he put into the game, but more importantly his athletes, was second to none – he treated them like family. Our deepest condolences go out to the Altobelli family during this time of tragedy.”
Last November, Kobe Bryant posted a clip on Instagram which shows his daughter Gianna playing against Alyssa.
“I hate seeing my #TeamMamba girls play against each other. This is GREAT defense by our Mamba [point guard] Alyssa Altobelli,” he captioned the post.
Christina Mauser
Christina Mauser, assistant coach on the Mamba Academy basketball team and a mother-of-three, was also killed in the crash.
Bryant reportedly called her the ‘Mother of Defence’ courtesy of her incredible teaching strategies.
“She was extraordinary,” her husband, Matt Mauser, told the Today show. “She was incredibly witty, funny, funny like nobody you’ve ever met. She was warm. She was incredibly bright. She was technologically incredibly savvy. She could figure out anything.”
Ara Zobayan
The pilot of the helicopter has been identified as Ara Zobayan, a licensed commercial pilot since 2007.
A student of Zobayan’s, Darren Kemp told the Los Angeles Times that he was considered Bryant’s “private pilot”.
“He doesn’t let anyone else fly him around but Ara,” he said.
Fellow pilot, Jared Yochim, told CNN: “”There’s a reason that people wanted to fly with him.”
“He was just a cool, calm guy.”
On Sunday (January 26), US basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Maria-Onore Bryant, were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
The father and daughter were on their way to a basketball tournament at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks where Kobe was due to coach and Gianna was expected to play.
WATCH BELOW: Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna Killed In Helicopter Crash
On Sunday (January 26), US basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Maria-Onore Bryant, were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
The father and daughter were on their way to a basketball tournament at Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks where Kobe was due to coach and Gianna was expected to play.
WATCH BELOW: Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna Killed In Helicopter Crash
