On Sunday morning, a little bit of greatness personified was snatched away from humanity in a fiery crash in the foggy hills of Calabasas.

Kobe Bean Bryant, 41, and his beautiful 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Marie, were among the nine people who tragically perished after the helicopter they occupied crashed minutes before 10 a.m.

It felt like the sun was even too sad to shine on LA that entire Sunday as Lakernation mourned its fallen star.

Kobe was an inspirational storyteller first and foremost. He encouraged future generations to pursue their passions and do what they love.

He made us all better by letting his undying drive to dominate the competition soak into the fabric of Los Angeles.

He made LA great again by showing us what being the best looks like. The City of Angels was divided in the early 90s, plagued by race wars, police brutality, and gang violence. It was Black versus White, Bloods versus Crips, but no colors were more important than the Purple and Gold once he took the floor.

Kobe was unafraid to be the outsider with a competitive edge. “The Black Mamba”, his on-court persona, was unafraid of speaking openly about being fueled by equal parts passion and anger. He was intolerant of laziness which is why he had a reputation of rubbing some of his teammates the wrong way, including “The Diesel,” Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal is having a particularly difficult time, understandably, after the news of his “little brother’s passing.” He shared an emotional statement on TNT as he was reflecting on the situation.