Less than 24 hours before the tragic news of Kobe Bryant's fatal helicopter crash in southern California, the athlete had taken to Instagram and Twitter to toast fellow NBA star LeBron James for overtaking him on the league's all-time scoring list, taking up third place.
These posts would become the final messages he ever shared on social media.
James surpassed Bryant to become the NBA's third-highest scorer of all time just yesterday, during the LA Lakers' 108-91 defeat by the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Scoring 29 points, James moved to 33,655 career points - 12 more than Bryant - in turn placing him third behind the NBA's all-time top scorer, Kareem Abdul Jabbar (38,387) and former Utah Jazz star Karl Malone (36,928).
Shortly after, 41-year-old Bryant posted a photo of himself with James on Instagram, writing: "On to #2 @kingjames! Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next."
On Twitter, he also included a hashtag for the number #33644 - the number of points James needed to become the third leading scorer in NBA history.
James also made it clear that the respect Bryant expressed was very much mutual, referring to him as one of basketball's all-time greats.
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"I'm happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe Bryant," James said.
"One of the all-time greatest basketball players to ever play, one of the all-time greatest Lakers.
"The man's got two jerseys hanging up in Staples Center. It's just crazy."
A call for a downed helicopter went out at 10.01am this morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Emergency services attended the scene and put out the fire.
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Police also confirmed to the media that all nine people believed to be on board had died in the crash.
Calabasas Mayor Alicia Weintraub said in a press conference: "It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Kobe Bryant and four others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas."
As of yet, the cause of the crash is not known.
