Kobe Bryant, Transformational Star of the N.B.A., Dies in Helicopter Crash

Mourners gathered outside Lower Merion High School in suburban Philadelphia, Mr. Bryant’s alma mater, as well.

“I was heartbroken,” said Jasmine Strong, 29, who was visiting from Brooklyn and decided to stop by the school, where fans brought flowers and other tributes. “I’m lost for words.”

In retirement, Mr. Bryant was busy becoming a modern Renaissance man who wrote and produced films and cultivated friends in the technology and venture capital sectors to help him with his investments.

Mr. Bryant first became a national figure when he was in high school, a preternatural talent whose speed, shooting prowess and seeming ability to jump out of the gymnasium made him destined for superstardom.

In the spring of his senior year, he announced that he would forgo college and enter the N.B.A., helping to usher in a new era in which the best high school basketball players, regardless of their size, started leaping from high school to the professional ranks.

Within a few years, Mr. Bryant had become the N.B.A.’s next superstar and the top player of his generation, taking his rightful place in a line of modern stars that included Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Mr. Jordan and eventually, Mr. James and Stephen Curry.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/sports/basketball/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash.html?emc=rss&partner=rss