Who is Kobe Bryant? Five-time NBA champion, father of four and the popular 'Black Mamba'

Kobe Bryant death: Former NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning in California. Along with Bryant and his daughter, the helicopter crash also killed seven others. The late basketball player is survived by his wife, Vanessa and three daughters.

Kobe Bryant fondly called his daughter Gianna 'Mambacita' after his own nickname, 'Black Mamba'. He was confident that she would go on to become a professional basketball player just like him. Bryant was a family man and often took to his social media to share about his wife, Vanessa and four daughters aged between 17 years to 7 months old. The limelight of his Instagram posts would often be his daughter Gianna or GiGi. In these Instagram posts, Gianna would often be seen showing her basketball prowess.

The former Lakers player was a five time NBA champion from 2000-2002 and 2009-2010 in his 20 year career that began in 1996. The then LA Lakers legend had retired with whopping 33,643 career points in 2016. He was the 3rd highest NBA scorer at the time. Apart from being an NBA legend, Bryant has also been a two time Olympic gold medalist. He was  a part of the US National basketball team in 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Bryant's last tweet was a congratulatory one for his colleague LeBron James.

Following his retirement in 2016, no player has ever worn the iconic 8 and 24 jersey numbers.  These jersey numbers were discontinued by LA Lakers in 2016 post Bryant's retirement.

As per several online sources, the NBA player's net worth was estimated at $600 million. He also founded an entertainment company called Granity studios. This company creates sports themed films, TV shows and books.

Also read: Kobe Bryant left deep legacy in LA sports, basketball world

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