I cried. I showed my mom videos and news articles about it and she cried. I talked with my friends later that day and we cried. It’s a heavy sadness, and the thoughts that go out to his family and his friends have an existential gravity.

“RIP to the king,” and “We lost another legend,” posted everywhere with pictures of his face behind it.

Scrolling through stories on my phone, whether it is Snapchat or Instagram, it was all about him.

Kobe Bryant was an idol in so many ways to so many communities. As an NBA MVP with multiple achievements including an Academy Award, two Olympic gold medals for men’s basketball, and five NBA championships, he inspired basketball players everywhere. He was a family man and was humble. He respected those around him and was a role model.  

Bryant and eight other passengers, one of those being his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, passed away in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif. The next few days passing brought tributes in his name. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings started their Monday night game with an 8-second backcourt violation and a 24-second shot-clock violation in honor of Bryant’s basketball number.

A petition to change the NBA logo to a silhouette of Bryant has received over 1.6 million signatures in two days.

My little brother is in fifth grade at the intermediate school and his class crumpled up pieces of paper and shot them into the trash can at 8:24 AM while they shouted his name.

I never met him, yet I have looked up to him for as long as I can remember. I played basketball for 11 years and watched him grow into an incredible player. I, like so many others, strived to be great like ‘The Black Mamba’. Coping with his death was like losing a friend, and for so many people to never have that opportunity to also feel this way shows his magical ability of bringing people together and inspiring them through what he does.