Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant, five-time NBA champion and one of the greatest basketball players, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the nine people killed when their helicopter slammed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.
The shock announcement led to an outpouring of grief on social media. #RIPMamba - after the two-time Olympic gold medallist's famous nickname Black Mamba - and #KobeBryant were the top two trends on Twitter.
The #RIPMamba hashtag has inspired over five lakh tweets from fans.
Former American tennis player Andy Roddick shared a video of Kobe Bryant with his daughter Gianna that is being widely circulated online and wrote: "Rest In Peace Kobe. Rest In Peace Gigi #RIPMamba."
The Indian football team also tweeted a condolence message.
Sports apparel giant Nike, with whom Kobe Bryant had a long association, also paid tributes.
Thousands of fans of the basketball legend took to Twitter to share throwback videos and quotes using #RIPMamba.
Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed shortly before 10 am local time on Sunday. Photos of the crash site show that it hit an undeveloped hillside. Firefighters arrived at the scene to find that it had ignited a bushfire.
Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and assistant coach for an Orange County private elementary school basketball team, Christina Mauser, were also killed in the crash