Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978(1978-08-23) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant is the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu.

Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school, and led a wave of high school basketball players skipping college for the NBA. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Since O'Neal's departure following the 2004 season, Bryant has become the cornerstone of the Lakers' franchise, and was the NBA leading scorer during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.

In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault. The charges were dropped after Bryant's accuser declined to testify, and the two sides ultimately settled the matter outside of criminal court.

Early life

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest child and only son of Joe and Pam Bryant (they also have two daughters, Shaya and Sharia).

When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA, moved his family to Italy, and started playing professional basketball there. Bryant became accustomed to the lifestyle there and learned to speak fluent Italian. At an early age, he learned to play soccer and at first his favorite team was AC Milan. He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player, and that his favorite team is FC Barcelona. Bryant is a big fan of FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and Barça star Ronaldinho.

In 1991, the Bryants moved back to the United States. Kobe earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. His SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges. Bryant has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University. Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA.

NBA career profile

1996 Draft

Before he was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, the 17-year-old Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who instantly foresaw potential in Bryant's basketball ability during pre-draft workouts. He went on to state that Bryant's workouts were some of the best he had seen. Immediately after the draft, Bryant expressed that he did not wish to play for the Hornets and wanted to play for the Lakers instead. Fifteen days later, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant.

First two seasons

During his first season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Initially, he played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

In Bryant's second season (1997-98), he received more playing time and began showing more of his abilities as a talented young guard. He was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter. While his statistics were impressive for his age, he was still a young guard who lacked the experience to complement Shaquille O'Neal and significantly help the team contend for a championship. The 1998-99 season marked Bryant's emergence as starting guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones were traded at Shaq's request. The result was no better as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Championship years

Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999. After years of steady improvement, Bryant had become one of the premier shooting guards in the league, a fact that was evidenced by his annual presence in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became perennial championship contenders under Bryant and O'Neal, who formed an outstanding center-guard combination. Jackson utilized the triangle offense he used to win six Championships with the Chicago Bulls which helped both Bryant and Shaq rise to the elite class in the NBA. Their success gave the Lakers three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

End of a dynasty

In the 2002-03 NBA season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic scoring run, posting 40 or more points per game in nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs up to that point. For the first time in his career Bryant was voted on to both - All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st teams. After finishing 50-32 in the regular season, the Lakers floundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference Semi-finals to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in six games.

In the following 2003-04 NBA season, the Lakers were able to acquire NBA All Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA Championship. With a starting lineup of four future Hall of Fame players in Shaquille O'Neal, Malone, Payton, and Bryant, the Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game, shooting 35.1% from the field, and 4.4 assists per game.

Conflicts and turmoil

Main article: Kobe Bryant sexual assault case
Bryant, following his arrest in 2003

In 2003, Bryant's reputation was tainted by a sexual assault case in which a young woman from Colorado, accused him of rape. With his image badly tarnished, the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's, Nutella, and Ferrero SpA were terminated. Sales figures from NBA merchandisers designated that sales of replicas of Bryant's jersey fell far off of their previous highs.

During the rape investigation, Kobe told police that "he should have done what Shaq does ... that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything" and that Shaq already had paid up to $1 million "for situations like this." This was controversial because Kobe and Shaq were teammates at the time and many thought that Kobe broke "locker-room code" by revealing confidential information, or worse, by falsely accusing a teammate to deflect attention from himself.

The rape investigation was resolved when Kobe agreed to apologize to the victim for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did." Details of financial compensation to the victim were not made public.

In 2004, a dispute between Bryant and former teammate Karl Malone became public prior to Malone's expected re-signing with the Lakers. Bryant claimed Malone had made inappropriate comments to Bryant's wife. Malone claimed the comments were in jest and that Bryant was overreacting. In the subsequent months, instead of re-join Bryant and the Lakers, Malone turned his attention to the possibility of joining another team, but ultimately decided to retire,thereforeleaving Malone without an NBA Championship.

2004-2005 season

With his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year, Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the season. This first season without O'Neal would prove to be a rocky one.

A particularly damaging salvo came from Phil Jackson in The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul. The book detailed the events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003-04 season and has a number of criticisms of Bryant. In the book Jackson also calls Bryant "uncoachable."

Then, midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion. Without "Rudy T," stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Bryant was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. This year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA by not making the NBA All-Defensive Team and being demoted to All-NBA Third Team.

2005-06 season

Kobe Bryant defending Michael Redd in December 2005.

The 2005-06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant also resolved his conflict with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The team posted a 45-37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough (3-1 series lead) to come within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Phoenix Suns. Despite Bryant's remarkable game winning shot in Game 4, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games. In the following off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter Bryant had, by himself, outscored the entire Mavericks team 62-61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock. When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying the end of the feud that had festered between the two players since O'Neal's departure from Los Angeles. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two laughed and joked together on several occasions. On January 22, Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, his point total in that game was the second highest in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

In January, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players ever to do so. For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history, and highest for any player other than Chamberlain. By the end of the season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise records for the most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832). He won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting a scoring average of (35.4). Bryant finished in fourth-place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but received 22 first place votes - second only to winner Steve Nash.

Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. Bryant's first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. He had also worn number 8 as a child in Italy, as a salute to Mike D'Antoni, who was one of his early idols and wore number 8 as a professional basketball player in Italy.

2006-07 season

Bryant scored 50 points or more in four consecutive games in 2007.

During the 2006-07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy.

Over the course of the season, Bryant became involved in a number of on court incidents. On January 28 while attempting to draw contact on a potential game winning jumpshot, he flailed his arm striking San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili in the face with his elbow. Following league review, Bryant was suspended for the subsequent game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, the basis given for the suspension was that Bryant had performed an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backwards. Later, on March 6, he seemed to repeat the motion this time striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić. On March 7 the NBA handed Bryant his second one-game suspension, leading several commentators in the media to call recent happenings into question. In his first game back on March 9, he elbowed Kyle Korver in the face which was retrospectively re-classified as a Type 1 flagrant foul.

On March 16, Bryant scored a season-high 65 points in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which helped end the Lakers 7-game losing streak. This was the second best scoring performance of his 11-year career. The following game, Bryant recorded 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, after which he scored 60 points in a road win against the Memphis Grizzlies - becoming the second Laker to score three straight 50-plus point games, a feat not seen since Michael Jordan last did it in 1987. The only other Laker to do so was Elgin Baylor, who also scored 50+ in three consecutive contests in December 1962. On March 23, in a game against the New Orleans Hornets, Bryant scored 50 points, making him the second player in NBA history to have 4 straight 50 point games behind Wilt Chamberlain, who is the all-time leader with seven consecutive 50 point games twice. Bryant finished the year with ten 50-plus point games becoming the only player other than Chamberlain in 1961-62 and 1962-63 to do it in one season, and won his second straight scoring title.

During the 2006-07 season, Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. A number of journalists have attributed the improved sales to Bryant's new jersey number, as well as his continuing All-Star performance on the court. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers were once again eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.

2007-08 season

Taipei Store Launch.

On May 27, 2007, ESPN reported that Bryant stated that he wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the team with full authority. Bryant later confirmed his desire for West's return to the franchise, but denied stating that he would want to be traded if that does not occur. However, three days later, on Stephen A. Smith's radio program, Bryant expressed anger over a Lakers "insider" who claimed that Kobe was accountable for Shaquille O'Neal's departure from the team, and publicly stated, "I want to be traded." Three hours after making that statement, Kobe stated in another interview that after having a conversation with head coach Phil Jackson, he has reconsidered his decision and backed off his trade request. On December 23, 2007 Kobe Became the youngest player (29 years, 122 days) to reach 20,000 points, in a game against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden.

Player profile

Bryant is a shooting guard who plays small forward on some occasions. He is considered one of the most complete players in the NBA, and has been elected to every All-NBA Team from 1999 on and featured in the last nine NBA All-Star games. Bryant was a vital part of the three most recent Lakers' championships. He is a prolific scorer, averaging 24.6 points per game for his career, along with 4.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. He is known for his ability to create shots for himself, and is an adept outside shooter, sharing the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with twelve. Aside from this, he is also a standout defender having made the All-Defensive 1st or 2nd Team 7 of the last 8 seasons.

Personal life

In November 1999, 21 year old Bryant met 17 year old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video G'd Up. Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released.

The two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000, while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. To avoid media scrutiny, she finished high school through independent study. According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Kobe "loved her too much for one".

They married on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point, California. Neither Bryant's parents, his two sisters, longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, nor Bryant's Laker teammates attended. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, particularly to a woman who was not African-American. This disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, during which Kobe Bryant did not have any contact with his parents.

The Bryants' first child, a daughter named Natalia Diamante Bryant, was born on January 19, 2003. The birth of Natalia influenced Bryant to reconcile his differences with his parents. Vanessa Bryant suffered a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in the spring of 2005. In the fall of 2005 the Bryants announced that they were expecting their second child. Their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was born on May 1, 2006. Interestingly, Gianna was born 6 minutes ahead of former teammate Shaquille O'Neal's daughter Me'arah Sanaa, who was born in Florida.

NBA statistics

Awards and achievements

3-time NBA Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002

2-time Scoring Champion: 2006, 2007

10-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Has started in each of his appearances

10 consecutive appearances (No All-Star game in 1999 due to league-wide lock-out)

2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007

9-time All-NBA Selection:

First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007

Second Team: 2000, 2001

Third Team: 1999, 2005

7-time All-Defensive Selection:

First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007

Second Team: 2001, 2002

NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997

NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion: 1997

NBA regular season leader in:

points: 2003 (2,461), 2006 (2,832, 7th in NBA history), 2007 (2,430)

points per game: 2006 (35.4, 9th in NBA history), 2007 (31.6)

field goals attempted: 2006 (2,173), 2007 (1,757)

field goals made: 2003 (868), 2006 (978), 2007 (813)

free throws attempted: 2007 (768)

free throws made: 2006 (696), 2007 (667)

2nd most points in a Game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors)

Youngest player to ever reach 10,000 & 20,000 career points.

Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Defensive Team (1999-2000)

Youngest Slam Dunk champion (18 years, 175 days), after winning the contest at the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend.

NBA records

Kobe Bryant shares five NBA records:

Most three-point field goals made, one game: 12 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics; shared with Donyell Marshall)

Most three-point field goals made, one half: 8 (March 28, 2003 vs. Washington Wizards; shared with 5 players).

Most consecutive three-point field goals made, one game: 9 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics; shared with Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon).

Most free throws made, one quarter: 14 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks; shared with 5 players).

Most free throws attempted, one quarter: 16 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks; shared with 6 players).

Lakers franchise records

Kobe Bryant holds or shares 29 Los Angeles Lakers franchise records:

Points

Season: 2,832 (2005-06)

Game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors)

Half: 55 (2nd half, January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors).

Quarter: 30 (twice, most recently on November 30, 2006 in 3rd quarter vs. Utah Jazz)

Games scoring 50 points or more, all-time: 21

Games scoring 50 points or more, season: 10 (2006-07)

Games scoring 40 points or more, all-time: 89

Games scoring 40 points or more, season: 27 (2005-06)

Consecutive games of 50 points or more: 4 (March 16–23 2007)

Consecutive games of 40 points or more: 9 (February 6–February 23, 2003)

Field goals made

Half: 18 (2nd half, January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors).

Quarter: 11 (February 2, 1999 vs. Seattle SuperSonics).

Free throws made

Game: 23 (twice, most recently on January 31, 2006 vs. New York Knicks).

Half: 16 (January 30, 2001 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers)

Quarter: 14 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks)

Quarter, playoffs: 11 (tied with 3 players; May 8, 1997 vs. Utah Jazz).

Consecutive: 62 (January 11–22, 2006).

Three-point field goals made and attempted

Career: 1,004 (1996–present)

Career, playoffs: 145 (1996–present)

Game: 12 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics).

Half: 8 (1st half, March 28, 2003 vs. Washington Wizards).

Consecutive: 9 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics).

Season attempts: 518 (2005-06)

Game attempts: 18 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics).

Steals

Half: 6 (tied with 3 players; February 13, 2006 vs. Utah Jazz).

Quarter, playoffs: 3 (tied with 6 players; May 17, 1999 vs. San Antonio Spurs).

Other awards and achievements

Gold Medal with Team USA, Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers

1996 Naismith High School Player of the Year

1996 Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year

1996 McDonald's High School All-American

1996 USA Today All-USA First Team

1995 Adidas ABCD Camp Senior MVP

Named to the USA Today All-Time All-USA First Team in 2003.

USA Today and Parade Magazine's 1996 National High School Player of the Year with a seasonal average of 30.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.9 blocks per game.

Led Lower Merion High School to a 31-3 record, including 27 straight wins, and the PIAA Class AAAA state title as a senior (1996).

The all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania school history with 2,883 points.

Had his Lower Merion High School number 33 retired a few years ago.