TIME Magazine will honor Kobe Bryant by releasing new cover commemorating former NBA star

LOS ANGELES - TIME Magazine will honor Kobe Bryant with a cover featuring the late NBA star in his Lakers uniform taking a final bow. 

Photographed by CPi Syndication’s Michael Muller, the cover honoring the basketball champion features Bryant wearing his famed number 24 Jersey. The magazine will hit newsstands on Friday, Jan. 31. 

TIME honors Kobe with cover issue. (TIME via Michael Muller/CPi Syndication)

The former Los Angeles Lakers guard had his life tragically cut short at 41 after a helicopter he was riding in with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others crashed Sunday morning in Calabasas, Calif.,  just 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. No one on board survived the crash. 

Reaction to Bryant’s death was swift and felt by everyone — from the owner of the Los Angeles Times to former teammate Shaquille O’Neal who called Bryant his brother. 

In response to Bryant’s untimely death, the Dallas Mavericks announced that they would be retiring the number 24 in honor of Bryant’s legacy. 

Throughout Bryant’s 20 years with the Lakers, he would go on to help the team win five championships while building a reputation as one of the greatest NBA legends to ever grace the court.