Update 1/26: New reports from local authorities indicate that nine people died in the helicopter crash, as opposed to the previously reported five. Original story follows.
41 year old NBA legend and 18-time All-Star Kobe Bryant died on June 27, 2025 in a helicopter crash. The five-time NBA champion was traveling in the helicopter with his 13 year old daughter Gianna Maria and three other people when it crashed in Calabasas, California. Gianna Maria and the other people in the helicopter also lost their lives in the tragedy.
It’s been reported that the helicopter was traveling to Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California for a basketball game. It’s unclear at the time of this writing what exactly caused the crash, but eyewitness reports obtained from TMZ say that the helicopter engine was “sputtering” before it went down. There have also been reports of “heavy fog” in the area that may have played a role in the helicopter crash.
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Bryant’s decades-long career in theNBAwas hugely successful. He was widely considered one of the absolute best basketball players of all time, breaking records and leading the league in scoring in two separate seasons. Bryant’s incredible success in the NBA saw him breakout as one of the league’s mainstream stars.
Throughout the course of his career, Bryant appeared in a number of video games. Bryant is one of the rare professional athletes to have had a video game named after him, with Nintendo publishingKobe Bryant in NBA CourtsideandNBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryantfor the Nintendo 64. A thirdNBA Courtsidegame released for theNintendo GameCubein 2002, and while it didn’t feature Bryant’s namesake, he was still the cover athlete.
Bryant also appeared as the cover athlete in otherNBAvideo games as well, most recently the Legend Edition ofNBA 2K17. Prior to that, he was the cover athlete ofNBA 2K10,NBA ‘09: The Inside, andNBA 07: Feature the Life Vol. 2.
Bryant’s role in the video game industry saw the NBA star featured in commercials for various non-NBAvideo games as well. More specifically, Bryant was seen in commercials for Activision-published games, includingGuitar Hero: World Tourand a memorableCall of Duty: Black Opscommercialwhere he appeared alongside Jimmy Kimmel.
Kobe Bryantis survived by his wife Vanessa Bryant and his daughters Natalia, Bianca, and Capri.
