Rapper, actor and die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan Ice Cube texted Kobe Bryant immediately after reports said the NBA legend passed away to see if he'd text back.

Bryant was among nine people traveling in his private helicopter over Calabasas when a fire broke out on Sunday. Bryant's daughter, Gianna Bryant, was also in the plane and died in the crash. The 41-year-old Lakers icon and his daughter were on their way to a basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks.

The cause of the crash is unknown, although some reports have said the weather may have played a part.

The city of Los Angeles and the Lakers franchise as a whole will never be the same without Kobe. He's the team's most popular player ever and will easily go down as the best to ever play for the franchise.

Like Ice Cube says, Bryant's connection to Los Angeles was way bigger than basketball.

The Lakers and Clippers play each other on Tuesday at Staples Center. That figures to be one of the most emotional games ever played in NBA history considering both teams have ties to Bryant and the game is being played in the house that Kobe dominated in for years.

Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were all close with Kobe Bryant. This is surely a very hard time for everyone.