After the untimely death of Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, several of the latter’s teammates from Mamba Sports Academy attended a Los Angeles Lakers game to pay their respects to the NBA icon and all others killed in the January 26 helicopter crash.
Mamba Sports Academies were run by Kobe himself and Gianna trained in one of them. The academy had announced hours ahead of the match that its doors were open once again according to a report on IANS via eonline.com.
Friday’s match was also the first NBA game of Kobe’s former team Lakers since his death which shocked the world and humanity at large. Kobe co-founded the Mamba Sports Academy in 2018.
According to reports, Bryant was on his way for a Basketball game of his daughter Gianna Bryant when the helicopter crashed in Calabasas of southern California, a suburb near Los Angeles. Those aboard the helicopter also included another player and parent.
Payton Chester, 13, Alyssa Altobelli, 13, and their coach, Christina Mauser, were among the nine individuals who died while en route to a basketball tournament held at the Mamba Sports Academy facility in Thousand Oaks, California, along with Kobe and Gigi. Payton’s mother, Sarah Chester, and both of Alyssa’s parents, Keri and John Altobelli, as well as the pilot, Ara Zobayan, all died.
“Our hearts are heavy. Our head is heavy. It is our duty, though, to continue our mission-Kobe’s mission- to help the next generation of athletes and leaders achieve their full potential. And, with your help, we’re going to do just that,” an Instagram post read.
In the days after Kobe’s death, wife Vanessa Bryant and the Mamba Sports Academy announced the formation of the MambaOnThree Fund to benefit the other families impacted by the crash.
(With IANS inputs)