Emotional scenes at Kobe Bryant memorial in Los Angeles
Emotional scenes at Kobe Bryant memorial in Los Angeles
Emotional scenes as mourners pay tribute to Kobe Bryant outside of Staples Center in Los Angeles
Emotional scenes at Kobe Bryant memorial in Los Angeles
SHOWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 27, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.
VIEW OF DOZENS ON FANS GATHERED IN FRONT OF KOBE BRYANT MEMORIAL IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 2.
WOMAN IN LAKERS SHIRT WIPING AWAY TEARS 3.
MAN KNEELING AND CRYING IN FRONT OF MEMORIAL 4.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) CASSANDRA FORTUNA, 13, FROM WEST CORVINA, SAYING: "I was shocked too, like me and my dad were just shocked.
We didn't know how to believe it.
It was very sad.
He was such a good person, you know?
Everyone loved him, LA, there is no bad things about him.
" 5.
TWO FANS TALKING ABOUT KOBE 6.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) KOBE FAN, KENAN WILLIAMS, FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, SAYING: "I just ... words can't even describe how I feel right now.
You know, I am heartbroken, I am pretty sure his entire family is heartbroken, the entire LA, the whole world is heartbroken.
And I will never forget that moment, the greatest moment of my entire life (when he met Kobe)." 7.
KENAN SHOWING PHOTO ON HIS PHONE OF HIM AND KOBE 8.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) KOBE FAN, AMY FLORES, FROM SAN CLEMENTE, SAYING: "It just broke our hearts and we just had to come up and pay our respects to Kobe for all that he has done for ... Look at all these people here, every size, shape, color.
What he did has transcended and has joined so many people that we just had to come and pay our respects and say thank you to him for everything he has done for us." 9.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ZERO O, 21-YEAR-OLD FROM CHINA, SAYING: "Actually my English is not very good.
I came to this country just because of Kobe Bryant.
I am from China and you know, in China Kobe has a lot of fans and why I wanted to go abroad, just to go to the university and I said maybe I need to go to California, to Los Angeles, because of Kobe." 10.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PETE SMITH, FROM RIVERSIDE, SAYING: "He's like my little brother, (I) grew up with him.
I'm a true fan of his on and off the court.
Everything he did man, he did everything the right way and now we starting to see it, you know?
The ethics of what he did, we are starting to see it." 11.
FANS MOURNING BRYANT AT MEMORIAL STORY: There were sad scenes outside of the Staples Center, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, on Monday (January 27) as scores of fans gathered to pay their respects to Kobe Bryant after his death in a helicopter accident the day before.
The Lakers game against the Los Angeles Clippers, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed following the death of Bryant, the NBA said on Monday.
Many fans were overcome with emotion as they stopped to remember Bryant outside the Staples Center.
"Me and my dad were just shocked.
We didn't know how to believe it.
It was very sad.
He was such a good person, you know?" said Cassandra, a 13-year-old who came out to downtown Los Angeles to visit the memorial.
"Everyone loved him, LA, there is no bad things about him," she added.
Bryant, who won five NBA titles in a 20-year career with the Lakers, and his 13-year-old daughter were among nine people who died on Sunday when the helicopter they were in crashed into a hillside outside the town of Calabasas, California.
"It just broke our hearts and we just had to come up and pay our respects to Kobe for all that he has done," said Amy Flores, a 64-year-old who traveled up from San Clemente.
"Look at all these people here, every size, shape, color.What he did has transcended and has joined so many people that we just had to come and pay our respects and say thank you to him for everything he has done for us," she added.
Bryant's death sent shockwaves through the NBA, as tributes to him poured in from across the globe.
(Production: Alan Devall, Omar Younis)