Alex Trebek Pays Tribute To Kobe Bryant, ‘He Was A Pillar Of The Community’

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is among the many to remember and pay tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant in the midst of his very shocking death this past Sunday. During a recent interview, Trebek addressed Bryant’s tragic passing and how much respect he had for the athlete. Trebek had been a big fan of Bryant for many years and like many others, was deeply saddened by his premature death, according to CBS 58.

During the interview, Trebek recalled not only Bryant’s obvious and one-of-a-kind skill as an athlete but how great of an overall person he was. He also talked about how deeply this basketball legend will be missed.

“I became a big Kobe Bryant fan when they were winning their championships, when he was playing with Shaq, and then afterwards when he won two championships without Shaquille O’Neill. And for a player to score 61 points in his last game is unheard of. Nobody goes out that well, and Kobe did and he will be sorely missed. He was a pillar of the community and was developing into the new version of Magic Johnson if you will. He was an entrepreneur, he had a sports facility where he was going to coach his daughter’s game the day he was killed.”

Back in 2016, Trebek released a statement regarding Bryant’s retirement. He had told Bryant that he expected him to continue to enjoy a successful career post-retirement. Many would later argue that Trebek was right.

Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna known as “Gigi” were killed alongside seven other people when the helicopter in which they were riding malfunctioned and crashed into a rural area of Calabasas, California. The plane was later discovered by mountain bikers who alerted emergency personnel. Unfortunately, there were no survivors. The father and daughter had attended church that morning and were heading off to Gigi’s basketball practice.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Bryant’s wife Vanessa Bryant had not been on board the helicopter that fateful day. She and the other three daughters she shared with Bryant are left mourning his loss. On Wednesday, Vanessa took to Instagram to thank the many people who have reached out to support her and her family since her beloved husband and daughter’s death. She asked for privacy as she and her family come to grips with this tragic loss. The investigation into what caused the helicopter to go down is still ongoing.

In addition to Gianna, the couple’s children include 17-year-old Natalia, 3-year-old Bianka, and 7-month-old Capri.