Magic Johnson Opens Up About Kobe Bryant’s Tragic Death, Says He’s Been ‘Crying All Morning’
Earvin “Magic” Johnson opened up in a series of emotional tweets about his fellow Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday.
“As I try to write this post, my mind is racing. I’m in disbelief and have been crying all morning over this devastating news that Kobe and his young daughter, Gigi have passed away in a helicopter crash. Cookie and I are heartbroken,” he began his tribute on Twitter.
Johnson went on to celebrate Kobe as an Oscar-winning filmmaker, as well as a beloved father and husband. Kobe won an oscar in 2018 for his animated short film “Dear Basketball.”
“My friend, a legend, husband, father, son, brother, Oscar winner and greatest Laker of all-time is gone. It’s hard to accept. Kobe was a leader of our game, a mentor to both male and female players,” he wrote with an accompanying image showing him and a smiling Kobe hugging courtside.
Magic continued, posting an image of the two clowning around with a basketball and praising the late player for his willingness to mentor young players, saying that the entire city of Los Angeles will be mourning the loss.
He gave his knowledge, time, and talent to tutor so many at the youth level, collegiate level, & NBA & WNBA players. Words can’t express the impact that he had on the game of basketball. I know basketball fans all over the world will miss him, especially the City of Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/ZoB3Uwbvzk
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 26, 2020
“Laker Nation, the game of basketball & our city, will never be the same without Kobe,” he added.
“We love you forever. #8 #24,” he concluded.
Kobe was killed in a helicopter crash at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday morning when his air craft slammed into the Calabasas mountainside at about 185 miles per hour. A cause of the crash hasn’t been determined at this point, but it’s likely that the investigation will center around the weather conditions in the surrounding area at the time of the accident.
Kobe’s daughter Gianna, 13, was in the helicopter with Kobe. The two, along with six other passengers and the pilot, were traveling to a basketball tournament when the aircraft went down.
As The Inquisitr reported previously, the basketball star chose to travel by helicopter because it gave him more time to spend with his daughters. In 2018, he told Alex Rodriguez that he kept getting stuck in the Los Angeles traffic and it caused him to miss events with his daughters. When he realized that he wasn’t able to pick his girls up from school because traffic was making it too difficult, he decided to travel through the air because he could get where he needed to go in a fraction of the time and be able to have more time to spend with his four girls.
