Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant

File:KobeBryant 20060409.jpg
Los Angeles Lakers
Position	Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	USA
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Lower Merion HS, Lower Merion, Pennsylvania
NBA draft	1996: 13th overall
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career	1996–present
Career highlights and awards
3-time NBA Champion 9-time All-Star 8-time All-NBA Selection 6-time All-Defensive Selection 2-time NBA All-Star MVP 2-time NBA Scoring Champion 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion 1996 Naismith Prep Player of the Year
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. 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 scoring leader 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). His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu.

When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA, moved his family to Italy, and started playing professional basketball there. Bryant acclimated to the lifestyle there and became fluent in Italian. At an early age, he learned to play soccer. 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 AC Milan.

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 controversial 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 immediately 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 with the Lakers, 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 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.

Championship years

However, Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. 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. 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 potential 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

File:Kobe Bryant - mug shot.jpg

Bryant, following his arrest in 2003

In 2003, Bryant's reputation was tainted by a sexual assault case in which Katelyn Faber, 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 indicated 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. [1]

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." [2] Details of financial compensation to the victim were not made public.

In 2004, a dispute between Bryant and former teammate 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 [3]. In the subsequent months, rather than re-join Bryant and the Lakers, Malone turned his attention to the possibility of joining another team, but ultimately decided to retire.

Unquestioned leader

When O'Neal was traded, Bryant became the Lakers' unquestioned leader of the team going into the 2004-05 season. As it turned out, however, his first season without O'Neal would prove to be a very rocky one. With his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year, Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the season.

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 of 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 offseason, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

In many ways, the team's improvement in 2005-06 was often overshadowed by the individual scoring accomplishments posted by Bryant which resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. The season included many spectacular individual performances including a game on December 20th in which Bryant scored 62 points despite playing only 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. 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 only to Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100-point game in 1962.

Also in January, Bryant became the first player since 1964, and the only player aside from Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games. 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 had also set Lakers single-season franchise records for the most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832), among others. Bryant won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting the highest scoring average (35.4) since Michael Jordan's 37.1 average in 1986-87. Bryant finished in fourth-place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but also received 22 first place votes — second only to winner Steve Nash, and by far the highest number of first-place votes Bryant had ever received in his career.

Other notable events

• 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 acrimonious departure from Los Angeles. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two laughed and joked together on several occasions.
• Late 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. 24 was Bryant's first high school number, 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. He mentioned some more reasons about his number switch, one to signify the start of the second half of his career.

2006-07 season

Kobe 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 18th, 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 Trailblazers, 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.

Player profile

Kobe Bryant shoots a free throw.

Bryant is a shooting guard who plays small forward and point guard on some occasions. He is considered one of the most complete players in the NBA, being elected into the All-NBA Teams en bloc from 1999 on and featured in the last nine NBA All-Star call-ups. Bryant was a vital part of the three most recent Lakers' championships. He is a prolific scorer, averaging 24.4 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 6 of the last 7 seasons. He is deemed by many league executives as one of the most reliable clutch players in the league.

Private 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 " (In the video Vanessa is in the convertible in a silver bikini). Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released.

The two began dating and were engaged just six months later in May 2000, all while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. Due to the media, 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. There were only about 12 guests at the wedding. 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, especially to a woman who wasn't 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.

Regular season statistics

SEASON	TEAM	GP	MPG	SPG	BPG	RPG	APG	PPG	Hi	40+	50+	60+	TD
1996-97	Los Angeles Lakers	71	15.5	0.69	0.32	1.9	1.3	7.6	24	0	0	0	0
1997-98	Los Angeles Lakers	79	26.0	0.94	0.51	3.1	2.5	15.4	33	0	0	0	0
1998-99	Los Angeles Lakers	50	37.9	1.44	1.00	5.3	3.8	19.9	38	0	0	0	0
1999-00	Los Angeles Lakers	66	38.2	1.61	0.94	6.3	4.9	22.5	40	1	0	0	0
2000-01	Los Angeles Lakers	68	40.9	1.68	0.63	5.9	5.0	28.5	51	6	1	0	2
2001-02	Los Angeles Lakers	80	38.3	1.48	0.44	5.5	5.5	25.2	56	1	1	0	1
2002-03	Los Angeles Lakers	82	41.5	2.21	0.82	6.9	5.9	30.0	55	19	3	0	5
2003-04	Los Angeles Lakers	65	37.6	1.72	0.43	5.5	5.1	24.0	45	3	0	0	1
2004-05	Los Angeles Lakers	66	40.7	1.30	0.80	5.9	6.0	27.6	48	10	0	0	5
2005-06	Los Angeles Lakers	80	41.0	1.84	0.38	5.3	4.5	35.4	81	27	6	2	0
2006-07	Los Angeles Lakers	77	40.8	1.44	0.47	5.7	5.4	31.6	65	18	10	2	0
Career		784	36.2	1.49	0.60	5.2	4.5	24.6	81	85	21	4	14

TD = Triple-doubles

Awards and achievements

Career highlights

• 3-time NBA Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002
• 9-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

• Has started in each of his appearances
• 9 consecutive appearances (No All-Star game in 1999 due to league-wide lock-out)

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

• First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
• Second Team: 2000, 2001
• Third Team: 1999, 2005

• 6-time All-Defensive Selection:

• First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006
• 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 highest in NBA history), 2007 (2,430)
• points per game: 2006 (35.4, 9th highest 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 highest single-game point total in NBA history: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors)

• The All-Time record is 100 points by Wilt Chamberlain on March 2, 1962.

NBA milestones

• Youngest player in NBA history to reach:

• 10,000 points (24 years, 194 days), set March 5, 2003 vs. the Indiana Pacers.
• 14,000 points (26 years, 240 days), set April 20, 2005 vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.
• 15,000 points (27 years, 136 days), set January 6, 2006 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.
• 16,000 points (27 years, 192 days), set March 3, 2006 vs. the Golden State Warriors.
• 17,000 points (28 years, 86 days), set November 17, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors.
• 18,000 points (28 years, 156 days), set January 26, 2007 vs. the Charlotte Bobcats.
• 19,000 points (28 years, 223 days), set April 3, 2007 vs, the Denver Nuggets.

• Youngest player to start an NBA game (18 years, 158 days), making his first start for the Los Angeles Lakers on January 28, 1997.
• Youngest player to start an NBA All-Star Game (19 years, 175 days), making his debut at the 48th annual All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden on February 8, 1998.
• Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Defensive Team (1999-2000)
• Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Rookie Team (1996-1997)
• Youngest NBA All-Star Slam Dunk champion (18 years, 175 days), after winning the contest at the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend.

NBA records

Kobe Bryant holds or shares seven 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).
• Holds shot-clock era records for:

• Greatest percentage of own team's point total (66.4% of the Lakers' 122 points) ( set on January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors).
• Greatest percentage of both teams' combined point total (35.8% of the Lakers' and Raptors' 226 points) (Also set on January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors).

Lakers franchise records

Kobe Bryant holds or shares twenty-eight Los Angeles Lakers franchise records:

• Points

• Season: 2,832 (2005-06; 7th highest NBA single season scoring output of all-time)
• 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)
• Scoring average, month: 43.4 (January 2006)
• 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, season: 27 (2005-06)
• Consecutive games of 50 points or more: 4 (March 16–March 23, 2007)
• Consecutive games of 40 points or more: 9 (February 6–February 23, 2003)
• Consecutive games of 20 points or more, season: 62 (December 9, 2005–April 19, 2006)

• 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

• All-time: 936 (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).

• Three-point field goals attempted

• All-time: 2,775 (1996–present)
• All-time, playoffs: 410 (1996–present)
• Season: 518 (2005-06)
• Game: 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

• 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.

Trivia

• For several years, he had an exclusive apparel and shoe deal with Adidas but is currently under a four-year, $45 million advertising contract with Nike.
• He appeared on the front cover of Gameboy Color's NBA 3-on-3 and Nintendo 64 games NBA Courtside and NBA Courtside 2 early in his career. Later, he was on the cover of NBA Courtside 2002, for Nintendo GameCube. He is also on the cover of NBA 07 VOL. 2 for PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, and PlayStation Portable.
• Bryant appeared in NBA Jam Extreme, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Jam (2003).
• Bryant appears in one of Nike's U.S. Joga Bonito TV commercials alongside American male and female players and Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho.
• Bryant was named to People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" list in 2001.
• Bryant was a member of a rap group called Chi Sah. They called him "Eight-Man Kobe-One-Kenobie." He even rapped in Italian.
• He was featured on the "Say My Name" Remix by Destiny's Child performing a rap in place of the bridge, and has a single with former supermodel/singer, Tyra Banks.
• He had a cameo in an episode of Hang Time.
• He is mentioned in the Oscar-winning song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" by Three Six Mafia from the film Hustle and Flow: "I gotta keep my game tight like Kobe on game night."
• In the movie Be Cool, there is a cameo of Bryant walking to the spectators stand when John Travolta as Chili Palmer, and Uma Thurman as Edie Athens were watching the Lakers play against the Sacramento Kings in which the Lakers lost 101-103 on February 26th, 2004.
• Bryant is the only remaining Laker from the club's 2000-2002 championship teams.
• His uncle is former NBA player Chubby Cox.
• He has won 4 NBA Photo of the Year Awards.

See also

• List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season
• List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game
• List of active NBA players who have spent their entire career with one team

External links

• Official Site
• NBA.com Profile at NBA.com
• Template:Espn nba
• Career Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Profile at the IMDb.com
• Court TV's complete coverage of the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case