Former France national team basketball player Boris Diaw pays tribute to Kobe Bryant Former France national team basketball player, Boris Diaw, remembers Kobe Bryant, who died Sunday in a helicopter crash. A five-time NBA champion with the Lakers, his lifelong club, Bryant, a two-time Olympic champion, died in Calabasas, southern California. He was accompanied by one of his daughters, 13-year-old Gianna, who also died along with seven other passengers. "He was a player who stood out from the crowd," says Diaw. SOUNDBITES