After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant became the cornerstone of the franchise. [232] He went on to score 40, 42, and 42 in his next three games. [281][283] He was suffering from soreness in his knees, feet, back, and Achilles tendons and Scott planned to reduce his workload going forward. In 2006, Bryant said that he was 6feet 4inches (1.93m). [200] The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round[201] and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced the Phoenix Suns. [368][369][370] According to sportswriter Mark Heisler of Forbes, "circa 20042007, Kobe was the most alienated superstar the NBA had ever seen. Its goals are "helping young people in need, encouraging the development of physical and social skills through sports and assisting the homeless". People can say he stole his moves from Michael Jordan, but Kobe did it in a great way and always showed. [188] Bryant was the league's leading scorer throughout the 2000s decade, accumulating 21,065 points in regular season play between the 1999-00 and 200809 seasons. In all, $200 million in collectibles are stored in two vaults . Sales for Bryant's replica jersey fell significantly. The Lakers swept the Nuggets in the first round and on May 6, 2008, and Bryant was officially announced as the league MVP. [292][293] The Lakers finished the season with a record of 2161, surpassing the franchise record for most losses in a season that they had set the previous year. Recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Philadelphia suburb Lower Merion, Bryant declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; he was then traded to the Lakers. Email. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 41 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court advantage against the Sacramento Kings. [442][443], According to Forbes, Bryant's $680 million in career earnings was the most ever by a team athlete during their playing career. [362][363] Throughout his first 17 seasons, his body was resilient,[292] and he exhibited a high pain threshold while often playing through injuries. [46] Bryant ended up making the All-NBA Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the second year in a row. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The story of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan sharing the court the last time on March 28, 2003, when the kid scored 55 points and the G.O.A.T. [309][310][311][312] Previously, Bryant was respected but not beloved,[313][314] and he was astonished at the cheers he was now receiving. [462] On February 9, 2009, Bryant was featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. . 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. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. [90] He continued his all-round play by averaging 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. [387] In October 2021, Bryant was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.[388]. [e] On January 21, 2015, Bryant suffered a rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder while driving baseline for a two-handed dunk against the New Orleans Pelicans. [214] Bryant, selected to his 13th straight All-Star game after becoming the leading vote-getter, had 37points, 14rebounds, and three steals in the 2011 All-Star Game and won his fourth All-Star MVP, tying Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for the most All-Star MVP awards. [317] West teammates offered to feed him the ball in an attempt to get him another All-Star MVP, but he declined. The others were Chamberlain (2 in 197273) and Kidd (2 each in 200910 and 201011). [521], At 9:45a.m., the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and began burning. [485][486][487] It was featured on his debut studio album, Finally Rich, as a part of the deluxe edition. [190] Five days after his finger injury, he made another game-winning shot, after missing on an opportunity in regulation, this time against the Milwaukee Bucks in an overtime game. Vanessa Bryant has reached a $28.85million agreement with Los Angeles County over the leaked photos from the 2020 helicopter crash which took the lives of her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter . [65] Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. [296] However, he played in the season opener to begin his 20th season with the Lakers, surpassing John Stockton's league record of 19 for the most seasons with the same team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time,[3][4][5][6][7][8] Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Zoo due to heavy air traffic in the area. [115] The year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA, as he did not make the NBA All-Defensive Team and was also demoted to the All-NBA Third Team. Bryant won his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award. "[158] Three hours after making that statement, Bryant stated in another interview that after having a conversation with head coach Jackson, he had reconsidered his decision and backed off his trade request. "[167] West, who was responsible for bringing Bryant to the Lakers, was on hand at the press conference to observe Bryant receive his MVP trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern. "[356] According to Bryant, "I would go 0 for 30 before I would go 0 for 9; 0 for 9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game. [502][504], Bryant established Kobe Inc. to own and grow brands in the sports industry. [343], Bryant established a reputation for taking shots in the closing moments of tight games,[344][345][346] even when he was double or triple-teamed,[347] and was noted as one of the premier closers in the NBA. [481] The music video of the single also features Bryant. The road to the Finals would prove a lot tougher than the record run the Lakers had enjoyed the previous year. [95] At age 23, Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships. "[371] After the departure of Shaquille O'Neal, he led the Lakers to two NBA championships; during this period, he became more of a mentor to his teammates than he had been earlier in his career. [281][282] However, Scott held him out for three straight games to rest after one of his worst performances of the season, when Bryant committed nine turnovers and scored 25 points on just 8-for-30 shooting in a 108101 loss to Sacramento. In his poem titled "Dear Basketball", Bryant wrote that he fell in love with the game at age six: "A love so deep I gave you my all/From my mind & body/To my spirit & soul." [195] After being sidelined for five games by an ankle injury, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to give the Lakers a one-point lead with four seconds remaining against the Memphis Grizzlies. [332], Bryant rejoined the national team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant outscored the entire Mavericks team 6261, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the introduction of the shot clock. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Los Angeles Lakers super star Kobe Bryant stopped by to attend and watch. [337][338] Bryant has drawn frequent comparisons to Michael Jordan, after whom he modeled his playing style. [11] Despite winning the Oscar, he was denied membership into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences due to his past sexual abuse case and their new set of standards of conduct within the recent MeToo movement. [164], Despite an injury to his shooting hand's small finger, described as "a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament, an avulsion fracture, and a volar plate injury at the MCP joint" that occurred in a game on February 5, 2008, Bryant played all 82 games of the regular season instead of opting for surgery. "Even though I play like shit, I've worked really, really hard not to play like crap and I do everything I possibly can. During the draft, the Lakers told the Hornets whom to select minutes before the pick was made. In the first game of the 200203 season, Bryant recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in an 8782 loss to the visiting Spurs. Kobe Bean Bryant (/kobi/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He'd get out there and get his shot up. [464] In 2010, Bryant was ranked third behind Tiger Woods and Jordan in Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes with $48million. Free shipping for many products! The headquarters are in Newport Beach, California. He was selected to his 11th consecutive All-Star Game as a starter,[180] and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December and January in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the week three times. Bill Branch, the Charlotte Hornets' head scout at the time, said that the Hornets agreed to trade their No. [54], Before the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, where he scrimmaged against former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper and, according to then-Laker general manager Jerry West, "marched over these people". [45] In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. Bryant led the team to consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, both times being named NBA Finals MVP. [322], Bryant declined to play in the 2000 Olympics because he was getting married in the off-season. He continued to be among the premier players in the league through the 201213 season, when he suffered a torn achilles tendon at age 34. After the draft, the trade was put in jeopardy when Divac threatened to retire rather than be traded from Los Angeles. 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