Kobe Bryant's Death Leads to Massive Outpour of Tributes, Icon and His Family's Names Trend Worldwide

Users on social media discovered Sunday morning that NBA icon Kobe Bryant and eight other individuals had died in a helicopter crash in California. This led to them heading to Twitter to determine the authenticity of the report and later post about their adoration for the former Los Angeles Lakers star. The result was that Bryan and his family were trending on Twitter for a considerable amount of time.

According to Twitter's trending sidebar, there were 2.79 million tweets with the word "Kobe" midway through Sunday afternoon. The hashtag #RIPMAMBA had been featured in 253,000 tweets, and #BLACKMAMBA was used in nearly 100,000 more. The vast majority of users on Twitter were focused on one topic on Sunday, and that was the tragic crash.

There was a multitude of tweets sent out in the hours following Bryant's death that talked about his impact on sports and life in general. Fellow NBA stars, retired players, and athletes from all leagues were posting about the retired Laker and how he was a positive force during his 20-year career.

For example, former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen took to social media to send his condolences. "I'm stunned. Words can't even come close to describing it. Just an incredibly sad and tragic day," he wrote.

Cleveland Cavaliers player Tristan Thompson was also completely stunned by Bryant's death, writing: "RIP KOBE I can't believe this is true. I'm at a loss for words."

While there were many users on social media sending tweets to honor Bryant's memory, others were more concerned about his family. There was a period of time early on Sunday when no one knew if Bryant's wife, Vanessa, was on board the helicopter during the fatal crash. This led to her name being among the top-three trending words.

Bryant's daughter, Gianna, was also trending on Sunday after it became public knowledge that she was one of the nine victims in the helicopter. She was on her way to Thousand Oaks for a basketball tournament.

Her nickname, Gigi, was featured in thousands of tweets as users sent condolences to the family and posted about the devastating news. The word "Gigi" was featured in 625,000 tweets midway through Sunday afternoon.

This tragic crash on Sunday was one that caught millions by surprise and put a somber tone on the year. Many fans didn't know how to react other than posting their thoughts on Twitter and sending love to the family.

Photo Credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images