Remembering Kobe Bryant Three Years On From His Tragic Passing On This Day

Kobe Bryant remains one of the most celebrated players in NBA history and January 26, 2020 will forever live in the hearts and minds of the sports world–not just for basketball fans.

It was simply another day in many people's lives when TMZ reported at 11:24 AM that a helicopter that had Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, better known as Gigi, had crashed in Calabasas, California at 9:45 AM.

Few ever wanted to believe the news at the time, but as soon as athletes, big-name celebrities, and NBA personnel started tweeting about the incident, everyone knew that the tragedy was very much real.

Quickly put-together murals honoring Bryant's memory started to spring up around the California area and soon enough, the rest of the world started putting up their own special tributes for Bryant.

A website was later established to compile all of the tributes made for Bryant, which amounts to 630 as per the site's tally: 455 in the United States (339 in Southern California alone) and 177 across 45-plus countries.

An outpour of love and memorial for Bryant's passing also swept throughout the league as teams scheduled to play that night were taking 24-second shot clock violations and eight-second backcourt violations in tribute to the Los Angeles Lakers great's jersey numbers.

Many continued to wonder what truly happened on that fateful day and the pieces were later put together by National Geographic's "Mayday: Air Disaster" ("Air Crash Investigation" in other territories) in Season 22 entitled "Loss of a Legend" that aired on February 12, 2022.

The investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that pilot Ara Zobayan had flown into thick clouds, contrary to visual flight rules (VFR) requirements, which resulted in spatial disorientation and loss of control ahead of the crash with no survivors among the nine people on-board.

On February 7, Bryant and his daughter were buried in a private funeral at the Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach, California.

Public funeral services were later held and live-streamed at the then-named Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) on February 24, 2020, with Bryant's wife, Vanessa, and NBA icons Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal speaking at the service.

Seemingly fueled by the memory of Bryant, the Lakers would go on to beat the Miami Heat in six games in the 2020 NBA Finals and tied the Boston Celtics with 17 titles for the most in NBA history.

Three years have passed since Bryant's death and the process of moving on still remains for a lot of fans, but the memory of Bryant's exploits on the court will forever live on.