Basketball legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter accident, along with his 13 year old daughter Gianna and seven others on Sunday (Jan 26). The 41-year-old Bryant was one of the game’s most popular players, an 18-time All-Star who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships.
Bryant and his daughter were on their way to his youth sports academy in nearby Thousand Oaks, Calif. which was holding a basketball tournament Sunday in which Bryant’s daughter was competing.
On The Kelly Clarkson Show back in November, Bryant dropped by to promote a children’s book he had just released, but he and The Voice coach and American Idol alum also shared anecdotes about their families. Bryant talked about his four daughters aged 16, 13, 2 and 4 months. He demonstrated how he sang to his infant daughter by singing a little bit of the Moana theme song, “How Far I’ll Go.”
The two also chatted about Bryant coaching Gianna’s basketball team, along with clips of her playing, and the two practicing together. He said Gianna was so laser focused on sports, that she didn’t think about romance. But he admitted it could be just him in denial. This clip, filmed only two months before Bryant and his daughter’s death, is heartbreaking.
Also on the episode, Martha Stewart teaches Kelly Clarkson and Kobe Bryant about the three ways to cook a Thanksgiving turkey. The chat turns a little “spicy.”
Bryant explained to Kelly how he got his nickname, “Black Mamba,” and dished on how his middle name “Bean” came to be. Plus, Bryan impressed Kelly with his fluent Italian.
In this clip, Bryant surprised a high school basketball coach who led his team to a championship while battling cancer.
