(Reuters) – Kobe Bryant, a Hall of Fame basketball player who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, died aged 41 on Sunday in a helicopter crash in California.
FILE PHOTO: Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant loses control of the ball during Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference first round playoff basketball game against the New Orleans Hornets in Los Angeles, California April 17, 2011. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
Following are reactions to his death:
U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, ON TWITTER
“Reports are that basketball great Kobe Bryant and three others have been killed in a helicopter crash in California. That is terrible news!”
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, FORMER BRYANT TEAMMATE, ON TWITTER
“There’s no words to express the pain Im going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice Gigi & my brother @kobebryant I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”
KAREEM ABDUL-JABAAR, FORMER LAKERS GREAT, ON TWITTER
“Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete.”
PAUL GASOL, FORMER BRYANT TEAMMATE, ON TWITTER
“Beyond devastated… my big brother… I can’t, I just can’t believe it.”
TED LEONSIS, OWNER OF NBA’S WASHINGTON WIZARDS, ON LINKEDIN
“We have not only lost one of the greatest all-time basketball players in NBA history, we’ve also lost a tremendous human being … His legacy will continue to live on through the many people he touched and influenced throughout his life of basketball and beyond. May he rest in peace.”
DWYANE WADE, THREE-TIMES NBA CHAMPION, ON TWITTER
“Nooooooooooo God please No!
NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
“We are stunned and devastated by the news of the sudden passing of Kobe Bryant. Words cannot express his impact on our Players, the NBA and the game of basketball. This is a monumental loss for the entire basketball community and our hearts are quite simply broken. We send love and prayers out to his wife Vanessa and the entire family.”
WAYNE GRETZKY, NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE GREAT, ON TWITTER
“Janet and I have no words to describe our shock and sadness on the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant today. Praying for him and his family.”
Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis