Sports world reflects on Kobe Bryant's death three years later originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Three years ago Thursday, the sports world stood still as we heard of the gut-wrenching death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others that passed away in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif.
The NBA world immediately came together to mourn the loss that day with several teams opting for 24-second shot clock violations in tribute to Bryant's retired No. 24 jersey, one of two of Bryant's jerseys hanging in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena.
While it's been three years since his untimely death, fans around the globe are not yet over the awful news that has still left the world in grief. Today, fans took to social media to pay their respects to the late legend, and the many responses show how hurt people still are.
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Bryant not only touched the basketball world but the soccer world as well.
Bryant had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history. Though he retired in 2016, his career off the court became almost as inspiring as his 20 years in the NBA. His resume included five NBA championships with the Lakers, 18 All-Star selections, 15 All-NBA selections, two scoring titles and much more.
He sits fourth on the list of NBA all-time scoring leaders and amassed 33,643 points across his 20-season career. His best season came in 2005-06 after scoring 2,832 regular season points across 80 games for the Lakers.