Basketball legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash on January 27. Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others died in the crash.

“Kobe was a role model for all basketball players. When we played trashketball as kids we all said ‘Kobe’ whenever we made a shot,” Claysen Scott, senior, said.

Bryant had a big impact on basketball, being drafted at age 17. He was also an 18-time All-Star, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and the 2007-2008 league MVP.

“I mean I loved watching him and then playing him on video games. He was a pretty big influence on sport basketball basically,” Josh Edwards, senior, said. 

It is believed that he died on his way to the Mamba Academy, which he founded.

“A game that I remember is when he scored 62 points against the Mavericks and outscored them as they had 61 points altogether, on December 20, 2005,” Hopelin Hood, sophomore, said