Every generation encounters at least one event so significant, so traumatizing, that people forever hold on to the memory of where they were when they found out. What they were doing. Who told them. How it felt.
Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, was one of those moments. The first report came shortly before 11:30 a.m. PT and throughout the course of the day one devastating update followed another. Eight passengers were traveling to a basketball tournament for Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. She, along with two of her teammates, three other parents, an assistant coach and the pilot were all on board.
With the one-year anniversary of that tragedy upon us, The Athletic shares these reflections by people from all walks of life about the Jan. 26 accident that shook us to our core.
We spoke to Hollywood mainstays, former teammates and journalists, but also fans. There are people you’ve heard of and…
