Brazilian basketball players, including legend Oscar Schmidt, react to news of Kobe's death

Former and current Brazilian NBA players reacted to the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California on Sunday with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others.

The all-time leading scorer of basketball, Brazilian legend Oscar Schmidt, was very emotional and had difficutlies recording a video message with his reaction, remembering when he met Bryant at the first time, when "he was a small kid, following his father at an all-star game".

Schmidt, who recently beat a brain tumor, wished the best for Vanessa, Kobe's surviving widow and his three daughters "all the best".

But added that "There's no such thing as the all the best when you lose someone of this importance. I hope that they can be well… go through this awful period that they will face… and may they… overcome this moment, a tough moment in anyone's life."

Former Cleveland Cavaliers Anderson Varejao initially thought it was "fake news, some internet joke". But then, when confirmed, was sad that someone "more than an athlete, an outstanding person" was gone.

Tiago Splitter, former San Antonio Spurs and currently pro scout for the Brooklyn Nets said that he "has never witnessed such a thing, an idol dying so young, in such a tragic way. I think Kobe was an idol for us all", he remarked

Houston Rockets center Nene was emotional when talking "not about a regular person, we are talking about a world icon… a friend".