Kobe Bean Bryant was a renowned American professional basketball player who spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, earning numerous accolades and records throughout his illustrious career.
Born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy, Bryant was recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Lower Merion. He declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick, before being traded to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned a reputation as a high-flyer by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, and was named an All-Star by his second season.
Bryant's impressive career was marked by numerous achievements, including five NBA championships, 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP),and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring.
Despite a feud with teammate Shaquille O'Neal, the pair led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexual assault, but the charges were later dropped and a lawsuit was settled out of court. The accusation briefly tarnished Bryant's reputation, resulting in the loss of several of his endorsement contracts.
After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, and on January 22, 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points, the second most points scored in a single NBA game.
Bryant continued to be among the top players in the league through the 2012-13 season, when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. His next two seasons were cut short by injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing physical decline, Bryant retired after the 2015-16 season. In 2017, the Lakers retired both his #8 and #24 jerseys, making him the only player in NBA history to have multiple jerseys retired by the same franchise.
The all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, and he has the most consecutive appearances as a starter. Bryant's four NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. He gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba" in the mid-2000s, and the epithet became widely adopted by the general public.
Bryant won gold medals on the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams, and in 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the film Dear Basketball (2017). Bryant died, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in 2020.
