Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa had a pact that they would never ride in a helicopter together, reports People magazine.
Bryant, 41, was killed alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on Sunday in a helicopter crash in the city of Calabasas, California while travelling to a youth basketball game.
The five-time NBA champion, who played for the LA Lakers throughout his career, used helicopters to get around Los Angeles, but he and his wife Vanessa Bryant made a point not to fly together.
“He and Vanessa had a deal that they would never fly on a helicopter together,” a source told PEOPLE magazine.
The same source also told PEOPLE that Bryant “only” flew in helicopters piloted by Ara Zobayan, who was among the nine individuals who were killed in the crash.
He is survived by Vanessa, 37, and their daughters Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, who was born in June 2019.
Bryant previously shared that he began using helicopters while he still played for the Los Angeles Lakers as a way to spend more time with his family — and less time stuck in traffic.
“I was sitting in traffic and I wound up missing like a school play,” he told Alex Rodriguez in 2018. “I had to figure out a way where I could still train and focus on the craft but still not compromise family time.”
“So that’s when I looked into helicopters, to be able to get down and back in 15 minutes and that’s when it started,” he added.
