Baku, January 28, AZERTAC

Israeli sports fans and leaders mourned the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna who were killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, according to TPS news agency.

The helicopter crashed and killed all nine passengers as Gianna and Kobe were en route to an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball game.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter that he was “sorry to hear about the tragedy in the US, a sad day for all sports lovers in the world.”

“Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players in history, was killed today in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Survived by a wife, four children, and millions of basketball enthusiasts around the world. Not to be forgotten. May he rest in peace,” he tweeted.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said it was a “sad day for all basketball and sports fans in the world.”

“Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, was killed in a helicopter accident in chilling proximity to the praise he received yesterday after LeBron James passed him in the scoring rating. Condolences to his family and the NBA family,” he added.

Minister of Sports and Culture Miri Regev said that “Bryant was invincible, he provided countless magic moments and brought great joy to sports fans all over the globe. This is a terrible tragedy.”

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said that Bryant was one of his “all-time top five.”

“Shock, bewilderment and deep sadness with the passing of a giant basketball legend and athlete who captivated me and millions of others to the screens and connected us to everything beautiful and special about sports in general and basketball in particular,” he said.

The Israel Basketball Association said it was “mourning along with the whole global basketball family the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.”