Thousands attend February 24 memorial in LA for Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, the NBA basketball legend and his daughter among nine who perished in a helicopter crash....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman of Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and Black blog, both also at the top in Black digital news in the Midwest
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NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant (left) and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant
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By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief
CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, LOS ANGELES, California- Former NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant, who spent his entire 20 years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers as a shooting guard, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were remembered during a star-studded memorial service at the Staples Center in LA on Monday, Bryant and Gianna dying in a helicopter crash on Jan 26 in Calabasas, California along with the pilot and six others, including a former college baseball coach and his wife and daughter.
With a weeping Jimmy Kimmel as the master of ceremonies, the memorial drew some 20,000 people and included performances by megastars such as Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera, and speeches from Lakers General Manager Rob Polinka, NBA greats Shaquille, O' Neil and Michael Jordan, among others.
Best known for leading the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during his tenure with the NBA, Jordan, 57, cried from the speaking podium and discussed his decades-long relationship with Kobe, whom he said was as close to him as a "younger brother."
Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, spoke too and brought the audience to tears when shes symbolically asked her husband to look out for their daugher Gianna, who was nicknamed "GiGi."
"Babe you take care of GiGi," said Vanessa Brant during her tearful tribute to her husband and daughter at Monday's memorial.
All nine people aboard the helicopter en route to the Mama Sports Academy basketball game in Thousand Oaks, California on Jan 26 perished, a life cut short of a legendary athlete who is being mourned across the country, Bryant, 41, leaving behind his wife of 19 years, Vanessa Bryant, and three other daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months, the youngest born just last June.
The crash remains under investigation, with Bryant's widow Vanessa filing suit this week against the helicopter company, alleging, among other claims, that the pilot was negligent and responsible for last month's tragic crash.
Monday's memorial was a remembrance celebration for all nine of the victims.
Bryant coached his daughter's club team and would take them to watch other professional basketball teams, which was the case last month when the helicopter crash occurred.
One of the greatest players of all time, Bryant's death caught the country off guard, millions across the world still mourning his death.
A native of Philadelphia, Kobe moved to Italy with his family when he was six after his father retired from the NBA, and he spoke Italian fluentently.
He was drafted to the Lakers in 1996 out of high school at 18-years-old and became the youngest NBA player to play in a ball game.
He went on to become the youngest NBA player to reach 30,000 league points when he was only 34-years-old, his career also highlighted by 18 consecutive years as All-Star game starter, Bryant an All -Star game contender from his second year in the NBA until his retirement from the league in 2016.
He once scored 81 points in a single NBA game, and he scored 60 points during his final game before retirement in 2016.
In addition to a host of other career accomplishments, including a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, he is a two-time NBA MVP and won two gold medals in the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 20012 as a member of the U.S. national team.
Bryant was also a philanthropist like LeBron James.
He started the Kobe Bryant China Fund, a charity supported by the Chinese government, and was the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in thirteen US cities.
Bryant won an Oscar in 2018 as executive producer of the animated short film 'Dear Mr Basketball,' a a piece based on a poem he wrote that illustrates his journey as a child who loved basketball to stardom with the Lakers.
With a weeping Jimmy Kimmel as the master of ceremonies, the memorial drew some 20,000 people and included performances by megastars such as Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Christina Aguilera, and speeches from Lakers General Manager Rob Polinka, NBA greats Shaquille, O' Neil and Michael Jordan, among others.
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| Michael Jordan |
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| Vanessa Bryant |
"Babe you take care of GiGi," said Vanessa Brant during her tearful tribute to her husband and daughter at Monday's memorial.
All nine people aboard the helicopter en route to the Mama Sports Academy basketball game in Thousand Oaks, California on Jan 26 perished, a life cut short of a legendary athlete who is being mourned across the country, Bryant, 41, leaving behind his wife of 19 years, Vanessa Bryant, and three other daughters, Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months, the youngest born just last June.
The crash remains under investigation, with Bryant's widow Vanessa filing suit this week against the helicopter company, alleging, among other claims, that the pilot was negligent and responsible for last month's tragic crash.
Monday's memorial was a remembrance celebration for all nine of the victims.
Bryant coached his daughter's club team and would take them to watch other professional basketball teams, which was the case last month when the helicopter crash occurred.
One of the greatest players of all time, Bryant's death caught the country off guard, millions across the world still mourning his death.
A native of Philadelphia, Kobe moved to Italy with his family when he was six after his father retired from the NBA, and he spoke Italian fluentently.
He was drafted to the Lakers in 1996 out of high school at 18-years-old and became the youngest NBA player to play in a ball game.
He went on to become the youngest NBA player to reach 30,000 league points when he was only 34-years-old, his career also highlighted by 18 consecutive years as All-Star game starter, Bryant an All -Star game contender from his second year in the NBA until his retirement from the league in 2016.
He once scored 81 points in a single NBA game, and he scored 60 points during his final game before retirement in 2016.
In addition to a host of other career accomplishments, including a five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, he is a two-time NBA MVP and won two gold medals in the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 20012 as a member of the U.S. national team.
Bryant was also a philanthropist like LeBron James.
He started the Kobe Bryant China Fund, a charity supported by the Chinese government, and was the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in thirteen US cities.
Bryant won an Oscar in 2018 as executive producer of the animated short film 'Dear Mr Basketball,' a a piece based on a poem he wrote that illustrates his journey as a child who loved basketball to stardom with the Lakers.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and Black blog, both also at the top in Black digital news in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Coleman is an experienced Black political reporter who covered the 2008 presidential election for the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio and the presidential elections in 2012 and 2016 As to the one-on-one interview by Coleman with Obama CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.
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