After practice Wednesday, Lakers coach Frank Vogel paid his respects to Kobe Bryant who died in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven other people on Sunday in Calabasas.
“We want to represent what Kobe was about,” he said to reporters gathered at the El Segundo facility. “We always wanted to make him proud.”
After Vogel heard the tragic news Sunday, he said he went home and hugged his family.
The Sikorsky S-76B helicopter crashed at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday in the area of Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street after departing from John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
It was bound for Camarillo, with the passengers on board heading to the Mamba Sports Academy in Newbury Park, where the retired Lakers legend was set to coach his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in a tournament game.
Source: NBC Los Angeles