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Fans descend on Staples Center to mourn Lakers legend Kobe Bryant

People convened at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers to remember the NBA great hours after his death in a helicopter crash.

LOS ANGELES — Fans have gathered outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles to remember Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Southern California.

The arena is also hosting the Grammys on Sunday night.

Posts on Twitter and other social media platforms showed people setting up flowers and bowing their heads in solidarity to mourn the basketball legend. Many arrived purple-and-gold-clad to honor the 18-time All-Star who brought five NBA titles to the 16-time champion Lakers.

Emotions at the home of the Lakers included a state of shock as people tried to grasp the surreal feeling surrounding Bryant's sudden passing at the age of 41, only years since his retirement from the league in 2016 after 20 seasons. 

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Gennesys Cabral, of Los Angeles, wears a Kobe Bryant jersey outside of the Staples Center at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.

Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed when the chopper went down northwest of downtown L.A., where the arena is located, in Calabasas.

Images of Kobe appeared on the marquees at the Staples Center as fans chanted his name.

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Credit: AP
Workers wrap Staples Center in a giant banner congratulating Kobe Bryant before his last NBA basketball game, a contest against the Utah Jazz, in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, April 13, 2016. Many of Bryant's fans - even some of the adults - have never known Los Angeles without him. I's a feeling they're about to have to get used to as fans celebrate his final night as a Laker. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

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