BREAKING: Kobe Bryant Has Reportedly Died In A Helicopter Crash

[TMZ] - Kobe Bryant died in a helicoper crash in Calabasas Sunday morning ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We're told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

I don't know what to say here, besides you just wish it wasn't true. Unfortunately it's been confirmed by a bunch of people and just feels like an absolute gut punch. 

This was just tweeted out by a reporter from an LA news station. This is just putting everything at a loss for words: 

And now Woj is confirming it. This is fucking heartbreaking man. There's nothing to say here besides how fragile life is. It's just all insane. 

This is obviously heartbreaking news. Kobe, no matter what you thought of him as a player, is one of the all-time legends in basketball. He's an absolute legend and is one of the most successful hoopers of all-time. He's been seen around games more and more lately, bringing his daughter to games. Obviously the one that everyone saw him with was Gigi, who tragically died in the crash with Kobe. 

It's getting even worse as time goes on. There are now 9 confirmed deaths, not 5 as originally reported. Just fucking awful. 

Just absolutely heartbreaking. Kobe was 41 years old and felt like he was about to be around the game of basketball for another 50 years. He was as part of the NBA as anyone I can ever remember with his playing career and now time getting back to sitting at games and talking to current players. 

RIP Kobe.