Palisadians Remember Laker Legend Kobe Bryant

The 41-Year-Old Died in a Helicopter Crash with Eight Others on Sunday Morning

By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter 

People in Los Angeles and around the world are mourning the loss of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died along with eight others—his daughter Gianna included—in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning, January 26, in the Santa Monica Mountains in Calabasas.

Kobe, 41, his daughter Gianna Maria-Onore, 13, and seven other passengers were flying in a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter heading to his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for his daughter’s game.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were still investigating the crash as the Post went to print Tuesday.

Passengers on board were Orange Coast College Head Baseball Coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and his daughter Alyssa—Gianna’s teammate; mother and daughter Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser—a college basketball coach, mother and wife; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.

During his time with the Lakers, Kobe spent a decade living in the Palisades in a Mediterranean villa at the top of Lachman Lane.

As Palisadians come to grips with the unexpected loss of the National Basketball Association great and Academy Award-winner, heartfelt memories and thoughts of their former neighbor are being shared around the community.

Palisadian Brian Piehl said Kobe was the ultimate Los Angeles sports icon.

“He was my childhood,” Piehl added.

Piehl remembers when Kobe moved to the Palisades, he went trick-or-treating at his house.

Then, when Piehl worked at Ralphs in high school, he remembered Kobe coming into the store and seeing him in aisle eight. Piehl had a chance to shake his idol’s hand and tell him he was his favorite player. In return, Kobe smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Piehl said Kobe brought him utter joy too many times to count and that for more than 20 years, “My friends and I followed Kobe religiously.”

Palisades Charter High School science teacher Karyn Newbill Helmig recalled a time when Kobe came to campus on a weekend to use the gym. His trainer went to Newbill Helmig’s classroom, which faced the gym, and asked if she had keys. Though she did not, she was found a janitor who was able to help out.

“Kobe gave her an autograph and talked with us for a few minutes before getting down to his workout,” Newbill Helmig shared. “So gracious to take the time to meet her and give her an autograph. I think about that little interaction often.”

Newbill Helmig added that she once saw Kobe buy ice cream for everyone in line at Baskin Robbins: “A group of kids who will never forget that day.”

Palisadian celebrity makeup artist Stella Tzanidakis worked with Kobe a few times.

Tzanidakis told the Post that Kobe was “the sweetest man” and “that any time he was speaking Italian, he’d become softer, even if he was overworked and tired at that moment.

“I feel something about that language—perhaps because it was his childhood language—would tap into something beautiful,” she continued.

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones shared on Instagram how Kobe was her next-door neighbor in the Palisades 24 years ago, “when they were both young and ambitious,” and she looked out to his basketball court from her house.

“We met the day he moved in through his dog that started to and continued to wander into my garden,” Zeta-Jones shared. “I watched his talent and dedication, yet how could I have known that he was to become what he became … unimaginable tragedy for all … love to the families.”

One story being shared by NBC Sports about Kobe took place in the Palisades: In 1997, Kobe was still a rookie basketball player—“often benched”—when he was “pressed into action” after things were not going well for the Lakers.

It was Game 5 of a second-round playoff series against the Jazz in Utah. Instead of scoring for the team, Kobe produced four airballs.

Yet, that didn’t discourage him.

As soon as Kobe returned to LA, the first thing he did was head straight to Pali High where he practiced his shot all night long, “until the sun came up.”

“Kobe refused to let the failure define him … or even slow him down … by the following February, Kobe was in the All-Star game at age 19,” according to NBC Sports.

Kobe leaves behind his wife for almost two decades, Vanessa, and his daughters, Natalia Diamante, Bianka Bella and Capri Kobe Bryant.