1200 Days After His Death, Immortal Kobe Bryant Lives in the Hearts of 2.4 Million NFL Fans

There are very few heroes who define an entire generation, and former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant is one of those. The early 2000s was Kobe Bryant’s playground, winning three back-to-back NBA championships. And Bryant continued this trend by winning two more back-to-back rings in 2009 and 2010. Needless to say, Kobe Bryant’s impact and legacy were on par with some of the greatest to ever lace it up, and even in death, that legacy continues to shine bright.

It has been 1200 days since Kobe Bryant departed to the afterlife. Honoring the life of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James said during a commemorative speech at the iconic Staples Center, “There’s a lot of things that die in this world, but legends never die.” That exact sentiment holds true to this day, as millions of fans look Kobe Bryant up, all in a bid to feel inspired.

NFL Remembers Kobe Bryant

It was the tragic morning of January 26th, 2020, as the entire sports world woke up to the devastating news, Kobe Bryant had passed away. Also present with him was his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Millions of messages soon overtook Twitter, as fans rallied together to share their favorite memory of the ‘Black Mamba’. To honor the late great, NFL also shared a tribute video celebrating the life and times of Kobe Bryant.

Since then, the video has garnered over 2.4 Million views as NFL fans joined hands to pray for the remnants of the Bryant family. The NFL world stood still as not many could fathom that the invincible Kobe Bryant had fallen. Speaking on the impact of Kobe Bryant, Patrick Mahomes shared, “Kobe has one of the best mentalities all the time as far as a competitor going out there and winning championships, not just winning games,  take a lot from that, going out there every single day and not being satisfied with where you’re at.”

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The biggest heartbreak of it all was the circumstances under which Kobe Bryant passed away, and even to date it’s difficult to believe the unfortunate turn of events that took place.

An unfortunate chain of events

It was 9:09 AM when Kobe Bryant boarded the helicopter with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; John and Keri Altobelli and their daughter, Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton; and Christina Mauser, an assistant coach. The entourage was headed to a youth basketball game in Thousand Oaks, but misfortune awaited. After getting redirected by air traffic, the helicopter was headed toward Calabasas.

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A shift change at the Southern California TRACON further led the helicopter towards mountain terrains with limited visibility. The pilot reported that they were scaling up altitudes of 4,000 feet but just after reaching 1600 feet, the chopper descended rapidly into the hills, claiming the lives of all the passengers including Kobe Bryant and his daughter. Since then, investigations were launched into the actual reasoning behind the mishap, but the sporting world was focused on mourning the grave loss it has suffered, something no one has been able to come to terms with.