TRIBUTES have continued to pour in for basketball legend Kobe Bryant after his death in a helicopter crash on Sunday, aged 41.
Five-time NBA champion Bryant died alongside his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others in the crash near Calabasas, California.
Widely considered one of the best basketball players ever and one of the highest profile sporting figures in the US, the former Los Angeles Lakers player’s death has been mourned around the world.
Bryant and his family have received condolences from celebrities and fans alike, with US president Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama, Canadian singer Justin Bieber, Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and rapper Kanye West among those to have paid their respects to the former sportsman.
READ MORE: Basketball star Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash
The NBA said in a statement that it was “devastated by the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna”.
It added: “He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations of players, taking special delight in passing down his love of the game to Gianna.”
Bryant’s former longtime Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal tweeted that he was “sick” at the news, saying there were “no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy”.
Bryant retired in 2016 as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, finishing two decades with the Lakers as a prolific scorer with a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic.
He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers’s LeBron James passed him for third place during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown.
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