NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, twice an Olympic gold medalist and a five-time NBA champion, died Sunday in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, twice an Olympic gold medalist and a five-time NBA champion, died Sunday in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California

LOS ANGELES - NBA legend Kobe Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash in suburban Los Angeles, US media reports said, in an accident confirmed by police that left five people dead.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials said there were no survivors from the morning crash in foggy conditions on a hillside in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles.

TMZ was the first US outlet to report that Bryant was among the fatalities, and that Bryant's wife, Vanessa was not among those on board the helicopter.

Early reports of Bryant's death sent shockwaves throughout the world, with fellow stars and celebrities expressing disbelief at the news.

The crash came only hours after the 41-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers icon was passed by current Lakers star LeBron James for third on the all-time NBA scoring list in a Saturday game at Philadelphia.

Bryant's final post on social media had been a tweet congratulating James on surpassing him.

"Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames," Bryant wrote. "Much respect my brother #33644".

Bryant was a five-time NBA champion in a career that began in 1996 straight out of high school and lasted until his retirement in 2016.

He also was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, helping the US squad of NBA stars to titles in 2008 at Beijing and 2012 at London.

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Vocabulary

  • disbelief: the feeling of not believing someone or something, especially something shocking or unexpected - ความไม่เชื่อ
  • fatality: a death caused by an illness, accident, crime or war - การเสียชีวิต
  • foggy (adj): not clear because of fog - มีหมอกมาก
  • NBA: The US National Basketball Association -
  • retirement: the time when you stop working, usually, but not always because you are officially too old to work - เกษียณอายุ
  • shockwave (n): a widespread feeling of shock caused by an unexpected event -
  • surpass: to do or be better than somebody/something - เหนือกว่า, เก่งกว่า, ดีกว่า, เกินกว่า
  • survivor: someone who still exists after an event that could have killed or destroyed them - ผู้รอดชีวิต

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