Petition to make Bryant the new NBA logo nears 2 million signatures

FILE PHOTO: Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant celebrates a shot by Steve Blake against the Houston Rockets during the second half of their NBA game in Los Angeles, California October 26, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

(Reuters) - Nearly 2 million people have signed an online petition to use Kobe Bryant's image as the new logo for the National Basketball Association following the death of the Los Angeles Lakers great on Sunday.

Bryant, one of the NBA's all-time greatest players, and his 13-year-old daughter were among nine people who died on Sunday when the helicopter they were in crashed into a hillside outside the town of Calabasas, California.