On January 26th, Kobe Bryant decided to go to a carnival with his daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, and 7 others.

It was a foggy day and all helicopters were told to stay until it clears up however, Kobe’s helicopter had special permission to fly whilst being foggy. The pilot was informed about the foggy weather and still decided to go out.

They lifted off and about 41 minutes later they crashed in Calabasas, California. There were no survivors from the crash. Half the helicopter was destroyed and the rest was in pieces. The crash led to Bryant, 41, Gianna, 13, Payton Chester, 13; Sarah Chester, 45; Alyssa Altobelli, 14; Keri Altobelli, 46; John Altobelli, 56; Christina Mauser, 38; and the helicopter’s pilot, Ara Zobayan, 50 to pass away.

Vanessa Bryant posted on Instagram, “We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe- the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna-a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.” (Full Post)

On Friday night, the Lakers got their first opportunity to honor Bryant’s memory and legacy. LeBron James made a speech for Kobe Bryant.

“I look at this as a celebration tonight,” James said. “This is a celebration of the 20 years of the blood, the sweat, the tears, the broken-down body…the determination to be as great as he could be. Tonight we celebrate the kid that came here at 18 years of age, retired at 38 and became probably the best dad that we’ve seen over the last three years. Tonight is a celebration.” (Full Video)