Jan. 26, 2020 is a day that basketball fans will never forget. At 9:47 a.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department received a 911 call about a potential helicopter down. Little did viewers know, future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was on the helicopter along with eight others, including his daughter, Gianna Bryant. 

Bryant is arguably one of the best basketball players to ever be in the league. Coming straight out of high school, Bryant made many accomplishments that will always be part of NBA history. After scoring the second most points in a single game at 81, being chosen to be on the All-NBA team 15 times, having two numbers retired by the Los Angeles Lakers and winning five championships, Bryant proved he was certainly one of the greatest. 

Following the shocking and unexpected news, many athletes, such as Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal, JJ Watt and many others were shown mourning over Bryant’s death in the NFL Pro Bowl game, and also the 2020 Grammy Awards. 

Bryant always expressed the love for his daughters through his Instagram photos, but Gianna and him shared a special bond through basketball. Gianna was only 13 when she passed in the helicopter crash.

In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Bryant explained how Gianna reacts when people tell him he needs a boy to carry on the legacy.

“The best thing that happens is when we go out, and fans will come up to me and she’ll be standing next to me, and they’ll be like, ‘You gotta have a boy, you and [Vanessa] gotta have a boy, man, to have somebody to carry on the tradition, the legacy,” Bryant said. “[Gianna] will be like ‘Oy, I got this. We don’t need a boy for that. I got this.”

People are still grieveing over the death of Bryant, and the eight others that he was with, and always will grieve this horrible accident. Fans will never forget what Bryant has done for the NBA community and all the people that he inspired.