Two weeks after his tragic and shocking death in a helicopter crash, Kobe Bryant has now been laid to rest alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, reports E! News.
A private funeral was held in Los Angeles this week and while it was only for friends and close family, a public memorial will take place on February 24th at the Staples Centre in downtown LA, giving fans the chance to say goodbye to the NBA legend. Speaking about the upcoming event, Mayor Eric Garcetti had this to say:
 “We are one city that believes in each other, believes in something bigger than ourselves. We will absolutely do everything to make sure that this is done so that everybody can come to it as well.”
Of course, it wasn’t only Kobe and his daughter who perished in the crash, as the helicopter was carrying several other passengers at the time and in total, nine people lost their lives, including the Bryants, Christina Mauser, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester and the pilot, Ara Zobayan. At the time of the incident, they were on their way to a basketball camp being hosted at the Mamba Sports Academy.
Though an exact cause for the accident has still yet to be determined, it’s believed that poor weather conditions and also poor decision-making on the part of the pilot played a big role in the incident. A complete report from the National Transportation Safety Board on what went wrong is expected to be released in a few months, so we should know more soon.
And though he may now be gone and laid to rest, Kobe Bryant’s legacy will continue to live on, with the athlete cementing his spot in the history books as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time and just an all around incredible person, acting as an inspiration to so many people. He was a very accomplished individual, on and off the court, and he’ll be sorely missed.
RIPÂ Kobe Bryant.
