NBA legend Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant and five others, including his 13-year-old daughter has been killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, Sunday.
“It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Kobe Bryant and four others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas. The aircraft went down in a remote field off Las Virgenes around 10:00 this morning. Nobody on the ground was hurt,” the city of Calabasas said on Twitter.
Read: Kobe Bryant, 41, daughter Gianna, 13, dead in Calabasas helicopter crash
Bryant adopted his nickname “Black Mamba” during his 20-year career in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard said in 2014 that he got the idea for the nickname after watching film Kill Bill.
In the movie, “Black Mamba” was a code name for a deadly assassin known for his aggressiveness and agility.
“I read up on the animal and said, ‘Wow, this is pretty awesome’,” Bryant recalled.
“This is a perfect description of how I would want my game to be,” he said.
Kobe Bryant and the story behind ‘Black Mamba’
In 2003, Kobe was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman. The case was later dropped when the accuser did not show up in court.
This is the time when Kobe decided to separate his personal and professional life, so he created “Black Mamba.”
“I had to separate myself. It felt like there were so many things coming at once. It was just very, very confusing. I had to organise things. So I created The Black Mamba,” said Kobe.
Bryant explained Kobe was for his personal matters while the “Black Mamba” was tasked with dealing with on-court business.
Kobe Bryant is survived by wife Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, seven months.
Reports say Kobe started watching basketball all the time because of her daughter Gianna.
“Before Gigi got into basketball I hardly watched it, but now that’s she’s into basketball, we watch every night,” Kobe said.