Nobody was prepared for Sunday. The news of Kobe Bryant being killed in a helicopter was too unbelievable to be true. We all questioned it and considered it to be fake.
Unfortunately for all of us, it was true. Since then, family, friends, and fans have shared their experiences of one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. That includes a 13-year-old who may have captured the final picture of Kobe before his untimely demise.
Brady Smigiel captured a selfie with his idol on Saturday at the Mamba Sports Academy, not knowing he would never see him again.
Via CNN:
“Brady, who played in the Mamba Cup for Team Edge last weekend along with his twin brother, Beau, woke up thinking “Let’s go see Kobe before our games,” his mother Dionne Reich Smigiel told CNN.
“They are both obsessed with basketball and big fans of Kobe,” she said. “Brady was writing to our ‘family text’ group all day.”
“When we are in Newport Beach, Brady makes me drive by Kobe’s gate just in hopes he might be driving out at the same time,” Smigiel added.
Gianna’s team, the Lady Mambas, lost 46-29 to Cyfair Nikecoop 2024 when Brady came forward to ask Kobe for a selfie.
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“He said Kobe was ‘mad they lost’ and wouldn’t take a pic but gave him knuckles,” Smigiel said.
Brady would soon get another chance to ask Kobe for a picture after the Mambas won over Tree of Hope Lloyd team.
It turned out to be pretty blurry. “Kobe said, ‘We’ll get a better pic tomorrow,’ ” Smigiel said.
“News of Kobe and Gianna’s death hit the Smigiel family as a shock. “We are struggling. Kobe was such a presence in our little community of Newbury Park. My boys don’t know how to process this,” Smigiel said.
“I woke up on Sunday and heard there was a helicopter crash in Calabasas and said to my family, “Oh, my gosh, a helicopter just went down at the same time Kobe is supposed to arrive in Camarillo. Pray it’s not him and Gigi,’ ” she added.
“Then an hour later we got the news. It’s just all so sad.”
