Remembering Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna five years after their deaths

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Sunday marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Both were killed, along with seven others, during a helicopter crash in Calabasas on January 26, 2020.

Kobe Bryant had retired at the time, leaving a legacy behind five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, with a three-peat record from 2000 to 2002 and again in 2009 and 2010. Kobe had both numbers he played, 8 and 24, retired after the 2015-16 NBA season.

Kobe was also a 19-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA MVP, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and Academy Award Winner for Best Animated Short Film for "Dear Basketball," the only Olympian to do so.

His daughter, Gianna, was born on May 1, 2006 and was the second daughter of Kobe. She was also a basketball player like her father before her.

During a helicopter flight on January 26, Kobe and Gianna were on their way to a basketball tournament with other members of the Mamba basketball team. The crash happened at 10 a.m. that morning with everyone on board killed.

Victims included basketball coach John Altobelli and his wife Keri and Alyssa, mother and daughter Sarah and Payton Chester, Mamba Academy assistant coach Christina Mauser, and pilot Ara Zobayan.

NBA posted on X (formerly Twitter) a quote from basketball commissioner Adam Silver. Silver stated that the basketball star "Continues to serve as an inspiration to aspiring and current NBA and WNBA players, young athletes playing at all levels and those who are motivated solely by his relentless pursuit of excellence."

The Golden State Warriors honored Kobe by tweeting "Mamba Forever" in honor of his nickname "Black Mamba." The nickname would also lend itself to the youth basketball league, the Mamab League, through the Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles Lakers also posted on X, honoring both Kobe and Gianna.