Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant (2014)
Player information
Full name	Kobe Bean Bryant
Nickname	Black Mamba, KB24, Vino, The Eighth Man, Showboat
birthday	23rd August 1978
place of birth	Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA
date of death	January 26, 2020
Place of death	Calabasas , California , USA
size	198 cm
Weight	96 kg
position	Shooting Guard / Small Forward
High school	Lower Merion, Pennsylvania
NBA draft	1996 , 13th Pick , Charlotte Hornets
Clubs as active
1996-2016	Los Angeles Lakers
National team
2008–2012	United States	24 games

Kobe Bean Bryant [ ˈkoʊbi ˈbiːn ˈbɹaɪənt ] (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † January 26, 2020 in Calabasas , California ) was an American basketball player .

Bryant played his entire professional career (1996 to 2016) for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA , with whom he won a total of five championships. From 1998 to 2013 he was continuously selected for the selection of the best players ( NBA All-Star ) of the season, and in 2008 he received the award as MVP (Most Valuable Player - most valuable player of the regular season ). With a total of 33,643 points he is in the list of the most successful NBA scorers in 4th place. His 18 All-Star nominations are the second most in the history of the NBA. In 2006 he scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest value ever achieved by a player. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and 2012 in London , Bryant won the gold medal with the US national team . Bryant is now considered by most experts to be one of the best basketball players of all time.

For his work on the animated short film Dear Basketball , for which he wrote the screenplay, he received an Oscar in the category "Best Animated Short Film" and an Emmy in the category "Exceptional Post-Produced Graphic Design" in 2018 .

On January 26, 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter accident in Calabasas, near Los Angeles. In April 2020, Bryant's posthumous induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was announced. His year of death was also the year in which he was first eligible for admission.

Life

The early years

Kobe Bean Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest of three children. He is the son of former Philadelphia 76ers player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and former Los Angeles Sparks coach Pamela Cox. The family moved to Italy in 1984 when Bryant was six years old for seven years as his father Joe continued his career in the Italian basketball league. During the summer months, he kept returning to the United States to play in the Basketball Summer League. Bryant got used to the Italian lifestyle, was a huge football fan and supporter of AC Milan ever since, and was fluent in Italian and Spanish . After a final year in France , his father retired as an active basketball player in 1992 and returned to the United States with his family.

High school

Bryant's basketball career began at a young age when he played for the school's basketball team at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore , a suburb of Philadelphia. Bryant was average in his first year, but over the next three years he helped his team to 77 wins in 90 games, including all five positions. In 1995, Bryant was voted Most Valuable Player of the Adidas ABCD Camp. While he was still in high school, then-coach of the 76ers, John Lucas , invited him to train with his team. Bryant finished his high school basketball career as a high school player with most points (2,883) in Southeastern Pennsylvania. During this time he was named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, McDonald's All-American, and USA-Today-All-USA-First-Team Player. With his SAT of 1080, Bryant would have had a choice of colleges but signed up for the NBA Draft straight away at the age of 17 .

Personal

From 1996 Bryant lived in Los Angeles , where he met the then 17-year-old Vanessa Cornejo Ubrieta Laine in November 1999 at the age of 21. The couple were married on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point , California. Bryant's parents were against the marriage and his father broke off the relationship with him because he did not agree with the bride's Latin American ancestry.

Bryant's first daughter was born on January 19, 2003. The couple had a second daughter on May 1, 2006 and a third daughter on December 5, 2016. In 2019, the couple's fourth child, a girl again, was born.

Bryant grew up in a Catholic family ; His four children were also baptized as Catholics. He and his family regularly attended services at the Holy Family Catholic Cathedral in Orange , California.

He was the first athlete who was allowed to immortalize himself with his hand and footprints on Hollywood Boulevard in front of the TCL Chinese Theater .

capital

Kobe Bryant led in 2012 to 21.4 million euros annual salary (27.9 million US dollars ), the list of NBA top earners and earned in his career total of over 323 million US dollars. He also earned around $ 350 million through advertising and sponsorship deals.

According to business magazine Forbes , his personal fortune was about $ 350 million in 2016.

death

Bryant came on the morning of January 26, 2020 in an accident of a chartered helicopter of the type Sikorsky S-76 B, along with his second daughter, Gianna, as well as six other inmates and the pilot in Calabasas near Los Angeles killed. The helicopter had taken off at 9:06 a.m. local time from John Wayne Airport in Bryant's home, Santa Ana , Orange County , and was on its way to Thousand Oaks , Ventura County , where a basketball tournament was to be held, which would also include Bryant's daughter's team . Due to bad weather conditions, the pilot had received a special permit for the start. Around 9:45 a.m. local time, the helicopter flew into mountainous terrain in heavy fog, collided with a hill and went up in flames.

Bryant was 41 and his daughter 13 years old. On board were two teammates of Bryant's daughter and her parents, including a community college baseball coach, John Altobelli, and a basketball coach employed by both Bryant and a private school.

On February 7, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar , a borough of Newport Beach in Orange County.

Los Angeles Lakers

NBA Draft 1996

Kobe Bryant was selected in the 1996 NBA Draft in 13th place by the Charlotte Hornets and on July 1, 1996 in exchange for Center Vlade Divac to the Los Angeles Lakers , who had already made an agreement with the Hornets the day before the draft. Since he was 17 years old at the time, his parents had to co-sign his first NBA contract.

The first three years (1996–1999)

In his first season, known as the rookie season, Bryant mostly came into play from the bench. Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel both saw more playing time than the exceptional young talent, who at the time was the youngest player to ever play an NBA game (the record was later beaten by Jermaine O'Neal and Andrew Bynum ). He also took part in the Slam Dunk Contest in his first year and became the youngest Slam Dunk Champion in NBA history at the age of 18. Because of his performance on the field, he was elected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team . In the playoffs , the Lakers bid farewell to the Utah Jazz in one of Bryant's most inglorious moments on a basketball court in the second round . He threw three airballs in the crucial moments of the last game of the series, a potentially game-winning throw in the fourth quarter and two three-point throws in the last minute of extra time. Shaquille O'Neal said years later that Bryant was the only player who had the guts to take these throws ("Bryant was the only guy who had the guts at the time to take shots like that").

In his second season, Bryant got more and more playing time and could thus u. a. increase his average points from 7.6 to 15.4 points per game. He became the youngest NBA All-Star Game Starter in NBA history, and by the end of the season he was ranked second in the list of NBA Most Improved Player . The following season, Bryant made his final breakthrough as one of the best guards in the league. The Lakers parted ways with Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel and created more playing time for Bryant, who was in the lockout-shortened season 1998-1999 in all 50 games of the Lakers on the grid. During the season he signed a six-year contract extension valued at $ 70 million. Even after this short time, many journalists were already comparing him to superstars like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson . In the playoffs, however, there was still no increase and you had to admit defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round after four games .

Three-Peat (1999-2002)

In 1999, Phil Jackson was named the Lakers' new head coach. After three seasons in the NBA and the steady improvement in Bryant's game, he was established as one of the best shooting guards in the league. He was elected to the All-NBA, All-Star and All-Defensive Team during that period, and the center-guard combination of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant made the Lakers a championship contender year after year. Jackson taught his team the so-called " triangle offense " that had already led to six titles with the Chicago Bulls .

During the preseason of the 1999/2000 NBA season , Bryant injured his hand and the Lakers had to do without him for the first six weeks of the regular season. Upon his return, he stood on the field for an average of 38 minutes per game and led the team in assists and steals per game. The Lakers scored 67 wins this season, the fifth best rate in the history of the NBA. At the end of the season, O'Neal was named the regular season MVP, while Bryant was named to the All-NBA Second Team and the youngest player in NBA history to the All-NBA Defensive Team. In the finals, the Lakers faced the Indiana Pacers and won their first NBA championship since 1988 after six games . In the 2000/01 NBA season , Bryant's statistics remained largely the same, but he increased by six points to an average of 28.5 points per game. It was first heard of confrontations and difficulties between O'Neal and Bryant, but the Lakers were still able to record 56 wins. In one of the best playoff series ever in the NBA, the Lakers won 15 of 16 games on their way to defending their title. During the playoffs, Bryant recorded 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game for his team. For the second year in a row he was elected to the All-NBA Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team and for the third year in a row in the All-Star Game.

In the following season, Bryant took part in 80 games of his team for the first time, made it to an average of 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game and his hit rate was 46.9% higher than ever. He was re-elected to the NBA All-Star and All-NBA Defensive Team, but this year also to the All-NBA First Team for the first time. The Lakers had 58 wins this season, but there were some stumbling blocks to clear in the playoffs this year. They prevailed in the first two rounds in five games each against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Spurs , but had no home advantage against the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference Finals . This series spanned seven exciting games and the Lakers were ultimately able to prevail. In the 2002 NBA Finals, which the Lakers won 4-0 against the New Jersey Nets , Bryant had an average of 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists with a hit rate of 51.4% from the field . At the age of 23 he was the youngest player to ever win three championships. This year he was especially praised for his achievements in the crucial moments of the playoff games and recognized as a so-called “clutch” player: a player who at the end of a game knows what to do to be able to clinch victory.

The End of an Era (2002-2004)

In the 2002/03 season , Bryant recorded an average of 30.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game - all career bests at the time. He was also able to score 40 points or more in nine consecutive games. In 14 games in February 2003, Kobe scored 40.6 points per game. Bryant scored at least 30 points 16 games in a row (January 29 - February 28, 2003), which was also a new record. Thanks to his achievements, he was elected to the All-NBA and the All-Defensive First Team and landed third in the election for the MVP of the regular season. The Lakers won 50 games that season, but lost in the second round of the playoffs after six games against the San Antonio Spurs . Before the following season, 2003/04 , the team strengthened with the NBA All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton . The two newcomers should ensure that the team did not drop out of the playoffs as early as in the previous season. Also prior to the start of the season, Bryant was charged with sexual assault, which resulted in him missing a few games during the season due to court appointments. With four future Hall of Fame players in their ranks, the Lakers reached the NBA Finals, in which, however, they had to admit defeat to the Detroit Pistons after just five games .

After the season, Phil Jackson's contract was not renewed, and the Lakers gave Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat in exchange for Lamar Odom , Caron Butler and Brian Grant . The following day, Bryant extended his contract for seven years.

Playoff Disappointments (2004-2007)

With a free throw before the 2006/07 season still with the number 8

Bryant's image was very battered due to the events of the previous year. The sexual abuse allegation, Shaquille O'Neal's departure and Phil Jackson's departure ruined the Lakers Shooting Guard's reputation. Jackson went so far as to write a book, " The Last Season: A team in search of its soul, " in which he wrote down details about the Lakers in the 2003/04 NBA season, calling Kobe Bryant, among other things, uncoachable. Jackson's successor as coach, Rudy Tomjanovich, left the Lakers for health reasons in the middle of the new 2004/05 season , and his assistant coach Frank Hamblem took over the leadership of the Lakers. Although Bryant had the second best point yield of all NBA players, it was not enough for the Lakers to make it into the playoffs. Bryant was not elected to the NBA All-Defensive Team and this year "only" reached the All-NBA Third Team.

The 2005-06 NBA season slowly put Bryant back into perspective. Despite differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson decided to take up the post as coach of the Lakers again. Bryant was fully behind the reinstatement of Jackson. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in the first three quarters in a game against the Dallas Mavericks . Before the fourth quarter, Bryant had 62 points and the entire team of the Mavericks 61. Bryant had thus achieved a performance never achieved before and did not even step on the field in the fourth quarter. Bryant was usually criticized for playing too selfishly, but after that game, various journalists denounced that he had missed the chance for a one-off performance by missing out in the final quarter. On January 16, 2006, ahead of a game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers , Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant made headlines by shaking hands and giving each other a brief hug, seemingly burying their longstanding feud. Six days later, Bryant scored a staggering 81 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors . Not only did he break the team record of 71 points set by Elgin Baylor , but he also achieved the second highest score in an NBA game. Only Wilt Chamberlain was able to score more points in 1962 with 100 points. Bryant's average in January 2006 was 43.4 points. By the end of the season, he had broken two more Lakers records: most points (2,832) and most 40-point games (27) in a season. With an average of 35.4 points per game, he led the Lakers to 45 wins and was the top scorer of the current season, but only fourth in the choice of MVP for the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers lost 3: 4 despite a 3-1 lead against the Phoenix Suns around their leader Steve Nash , who had become the MVP of the regular season.

After the season, Bryant underwent knee surgery and had to sit out at the 2006 World Basketball Championship. He announced that he would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 with the start of the coming season. He had worn the number 24 in high school before moving to 33. Since both numbers were not available at the beginning of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he took his jersey number 143 from the Adidas ABCD Camp, added the three digits and came up with jersey number 8.

The 2006-07 NBA season earned Bryant his ninth All-Star Game pick, and his 31 points, six assists, and six steals made him the NBA All-Star Game MVP . On March 16, 2007, he achieved his season high of 65 points in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers , which also prevented the eighth defeat of the Lakers in a row. In the following game Bryant scored 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves and in the following game 60 points against the Memphis Grizzlies . After Elgin Baylor , he became the second Lakers player to score at least 50 points three games in a row, and he was the first since Michael Jordan in 1987 to accomplish the feat. In the following game against the New Orleans Hornets he scored exactly 50 points, making him the only player besides Wilt Chamberlain who could book four 50-point games in a row. At the end of the season, he had ten 50-point games - another feat that only Chamberlain and Bryant could manage in one season. Bryant was again the top scorer of the season. In the playoffs, however, the Lakers failed again in the first round to the Phoenix Suns , this time after five games.

MVP (2007-2008)

In the 2007-08 season , on December 23, 2007, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 points in his NBA career at 29 years and 122 days. Despite a serious injury to his little finger on his throwing hand, he played in all 82 Lakers games and led them to 57 wins - the highest in the Western Conference this season. Thanks to the good team performance and his individual performances on the field, Bryant was voted MVP of the regular season for the first time . In the playoffs, the Lakers prevailed on their way to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets , the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs . In the finals, however, they had to admit defeat to the Boston Celtics around Paul Pierce , Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen after six games .

Career Statistics (Average)

	season	Playoffs
Points per game	25.0	25.6
Rebounds per game	5.2	5.1
Assists per game	4.7	4.7
Blocks per game	0.5	0.7
Steals per game	1.4	1.4
Hit rate	44.7%	44.8%
Hit rate (3 points)	33.0%	33.1%
Hit rate (free throws)	83.7%	81.6%

Repeat (2008-2010)

The 2008-09 NBA season began with eleven wins for the Lakers. After 19 games and 17 wins, they had set the best start to the season in the team's history. On February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points in a game against the New York Knicks , setting the record for the most points by a player at Madison Square Garden . He was also selected for the eleventh straight line-up for the NBA All-Star Game and was co- MVP of the game with Shaquille O'Neal . By the end of the season, the Lakers had 65 wins and Bryant finished second in the regular season MVP pick, behind LeBron James . He was elected to the All-NBA and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career. After the Lakers had prevailed against the Utah Jazz , the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets , they were again in the NBA Finals. This time they were able to assert themselves after five games against the Orlando Magic and Bryant was able to secure his fourth NBA championship and his first NBA Finals MVP award.

In the following 2009-10 season , Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 25,000 points in his NBA career. On April 2, 2010, he extended his contract with the Lakers for another three years for a total salary of $ 87 million. In the playoffs, his team prevailed in six games against the Oklahoma City Thunder , in four games against the Utah Jazz and in another six games against the Phoenix Suns . In the NBA Finals, the Lakers faced the Boston Celtics , the NBA champions of 2008. In seven exciting games, the Lakers were able to assert themselves and win their second championship in a row. Bryant was thus champion for the fifth time and the MVP of the NBA Finals for the second time in a row . He called this championship "the most satisfying of his previous five championships".

The years after the championship (2010-2013)

The Lakers started the new NBA season with eight wins in their first eight games. Bryant was voted for his 13th consecutive NBA All-Star Game, where he was voted All-Star Game MVP for the fourth time. On January 30, 2011 he scored the 27,000 point of his NBA career and two days later he became one of seven players in NBA history to record 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists in their career. On March 8, 2011 Bryant overtook thanks to 26 points in a game against the Atlanta Hawks Moses Malone in the all-time NBA scorer list and is now sixth. After the resignation of Shaquille O'Neal, he was the highest ranked active player. On January 1, 2012, he scored the 28,000 point of his NBA career with a free throw in a game against the Denver Nuggets . At 33 years and 132 days, he is the youngest player to ever reach this mark. Up until that point it was Wilt Chamberlain , aged 34 years and 363 days. On February 7, 2012, Bryant overtook Shaquille O'Neal with 28 points in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the all-time NBA scorer list and is now fifth. In the 2012 All-Star Game, he became the sole record holder for 27 points thanks to Career points in all-star games. On December 5, 2012, Bryant reached 30,000 in a game against the New Orleans Hornets . Point of his NBA career and at 34 years and 104 days is the youngest player to ever reach this mark. At that point, Wilt Chamberlain was the youngest player at 35 years and 179 days. After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Karl Malone , Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, he is the fifth player to join this elite club. Between December 7 and 26, 2012, he finished every game with at least 30 points (35, 34, 42, 31, 30, 34, 30, 34, 34, 40 points). Only two others succeeded after their 34th birthday: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5 games, 1981/82) and Michael Jordan (5 games, 1997/98). That streak broke on December 28, 2012 when he scored 27 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. However, he had only played in the first three quarters. On March 30, 2013, Bryant overtook Wilt Chamberlain in the all-time NBA scorer list thanks to 19 points in a game against the Sacramento Kings and finished fourth.

Recurring injuries and retirement (2013-2016)

On April 12, 2013, Bryant contracted an Achilles tendon rupture , after which he had to sit out for eight months, until December 8th. After playing six games, he fractured the lateral tibial head in his left knee, causing him to be out for the rest of the season. The Lakers played the worst season in their club's history and clearly missed the playoffs. For the 2014/15 NBA season, Bryant returned for his 19th NBA season, drawing level with John Stockton , who also played 19 seasons for the same team. On December 14, 2014, he overtook Michael Jordan in the all-time NBA points list and is in third place behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone . He was injured again on January 21, 2015, in the game against the New Orleans Pelicans , when he tore a rotator cuff in his right shoulder while attempting to dunk . He had to undergo another operation and was out for the entire season. Bryant had only played 35 games of the season for the Lakers to date. In 2015 he was appointed to the All-Star Game. However, as in the previous year, he was unable to participate in the game due to his injury. In November 2015, Bryant announced that he would retire at the end of the season. He was nominated by the fans as a starter for the All-Star Game 2016, which secured his 18th participation. On April 13, 2016, Bryant led the Lakers in his last game with a personal season high of 60 points to a 101-96 win against Utah Jazz . That was also a point record in the 2015/16 season . Bryant is now the oldest player to ever break the 60-point mark. In his final NBA year he averaged 17.6 points. The Lakers finished the season as the second worst team of the season.

statistics

Legend
GP	Matches played (Games Played)	GS	Games from the beginning (Games started)	MPG	Graduated minutes per game (Minutes per game)
FG%	Throw rate from the field (field goal percentage)	3P%	Throwing quota three-point throws (3-point field-goal percentage)	FT%	Free throw rate (free-throw percentage)
RPG	Rebounds per game (rebounds per game)	APG	Assists per game (assists per game)	SPG	Steals per game (steals per game)
BPG	Blocks per game (blocks per game)	PPG	Points per game (points per game)
	NBA championship		Season best per player	FAT	Career record

Regular season

season	team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1996-97	Los Angeles Lakers	71	6th	15.5	.417	.375	.819	1.9	1.3	.7	.3	7.6
1997-98	Los Angeles Lakers	79	1	26.0	.428	.341	.794	3.1	2.5	.9	.5	15.4
1998-99	Los Angeles Lakers	50	50	37.9	.465	.267	.839	5.3	3.8	1.4	1.0	19.9
1999-00	Los Angeles Lakers	66	62	38.2	.468	.319	.821	6.3	4.9	1.6	.9	22.5
2000-01	Los Angeles Lakers	68	68	40.9	.464	.305	.853	5.9	5.0	1.7	.6	28.5
2001-02	Los Angeles Lakers	80	80	38.3	.469	.250	.829	5.5	5.5	1.5	.4	25.2
2002-03	Los Angeles Lakers	82	82	41.5	.451	.383	.843	6.9	5.9	2.2	.8th	30.0
2003-04	Los Angeles Lakers	65	64	37.6	.438	.327	.852	5.5	5.1	1.7	.4	24.0
2004-05	Los Angeles Lakers	66	66	40.7	.433	.339	.816	5.9	6.0	1.3	.8th	27.6
2005-06	Los Angeles Lakers	80	80	41.0	.450	.347	.850	5.3	4.5	1.8	.4	35.4
2006-07	Los Angeles Lakers	77	77	40.8	.463	.344	.868	5.7	5.4	1.4	.5	31.4
2007-08	Los Angeles Lakers	82	82	38.9	.459	.361	.840	6.3	5.4	1.8	.5	28.3
2008-09	Los Angeles Lakers	82	82	36.1	.467	.351	.856	5.2	4.9	1.5	.5	26.8
2009-10	Los Angeles Lakers	73	73	38.8	.456	.329	.811	5.4	5.0	1.5	.3	27.0
2010-11	Los Angeles Lakers	82	82	33.9	.451	.323	.828	5.1	4.7	1.2	.1	25.3
2011-12	Los Angeles Lakers	58	58	38.5	.430	.303	.845	5.4	4.6	1.2	.3	27.9
2012–13	Los Angeles Lakers	78	78	38.6	.463	.324	.839	5.6	6.0	1.4	.3	27.3
2013-14	Los Angeles Lakers	6th	6th	29.5	.425	.188	.857	4.3	6.3	1.2	.2	13.8
2014–15	Los Angeles Lakers	35	35	34.5	.373	.293	.813	5.7	5.6	1.3	.9	22.3
2015–16	Los Angeles Lakers	66	66	28.2	.358	.285	.826	3.7	2.8	.9	.2	17.6
total		1,346	1,198	36.1	.447	.329	.837	5.2	4.7	1.4	.5	25.0
All star		15th	15th	27.6	.500	.324	.789	5.0	4.7	2.5	.4	19.3

(Source:)

Playoffs

season	team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1996-97	Los Angeles Lakers	9	0	14.8	.382	.261	.867	1.2	1.2	.3	.2	8.2
1997-98	Los Angeles Lakers	11	0	20.0	.408	.214	.689	1.9	1.5	.3	.7	8.7
1998-99	Los Angeles Lakers	8th	8th	39.4	.430	.348	.800	6.9	4.6	1.9	1.3	19.8
1999-00	Los Angeles Lakers	22nd	22nd	39.0	.442	.344	.754	4.5	4.4	1.5	1.5	21.1
2000-01	Los Angeles Lakers	16	16	43.4	.469	.324	.821	7.3	6.1	1.6	.8th	29.4
2001-02	Los Angeles Lakers	19th	19th	43.8	.434	.379	.759	5.8	4.6	1.4	.9	26.6
2002-03	Los Angeles Lakers	12	12	44.3	.432	.403	.827	5.1	5.2	1.2	.1	32.1
2003-04	Los Angeles Lakers	22nd	22nd	44.2	.413	.247	.813	4.7	5.5	1.9	.3	24.5
2005-06	Los Angeles Lakers	7th	7th	44.9	.497	.400	.771	6.3	5.1	1.1	.4	27.9
2006-07	Los Angeles Lakers	5	5	43.0	.462	.357	.919	5.2	4.4	1.0	.4	32.8
2007-08	Los Angeles Lakers	21st	21st	41.1	.479	.302	.809	5.7	5.6	1.7	.9	30.1
2008-09	Los Angeles Lakers	23	23	40.8	.457	.349	.883	5.3	5.5	1.7	.9	30.2
2009-10	Los Angeles Lakers	23	23	40.1	.458	.374	.842	6.0	5.5	1.3	.7	29.2
2010-11	Los Angeles Lakers	10	10	35.4	.446	.293	.820	3.4	3.3	1.6	.3	22.8
2011-12	Los Angeles Lakers	12	12	39.7	.439	.283	.832	4.8	4.3	1.3	.2	30.0
total		220	200	39.3	.448	.331	.816	5.1	4.7	1.4	.6	25.6

(Source:)

Awards and records

NBA awards

• Five-time NBA champion: 2000–2002, 2009, 2010
• NBA MVP (Most Valuable Player of the League): 2008 ahead of Chris Paul
• NBA Finals MVP: 2009, 2010
• Fifteen appointments to the All-NBA team :
  • First Team: 2002–2004, 2006–2013
  • Second team: 2000, 2001
  • Third Team: 1999, 2005
• Twelve appointments to the all-defensive team :
  • First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006–2011
  • Second team: 2001, 2002, 2012
• 18-time NBA All-Star: 1998-2016 (exception 1999: there was no All-Star Game due to the league- wide lockout , in 2014 and 2015 he did not take part in the All-Star Game due to injuries)
• Four-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011
• Two-time NBA Scoring Champion: 2006 (35.4), 2007 (31.6)
• Most points in one season: 2006 (2832), 2003 (2461), 2007 (2430)
• Most points per game in one season: 2005-2006 (35.4)
• Most points per game in the playoffs: 2006-2007 (32.8)
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997
• NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion: 1997

International awards

• Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics

Records

• Second highest number of points during a game in NBA history: 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in the 2005/06 season ( Wilt Chamberlain took first place with 100 points in the Philadelphia game against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962)
• The 2005-06 season average of 35.4 points per game is the ninth highest in NBA history (the top eight being Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor , Michael Jordan and Rick Barry )
• "40 +" - points games (in the regular season): 100
• "50 +" - points games (in the regular season): 22
• Triple doubles (career): 19
• Most games played on Christmas Day (December 25th): 16
• Most points scored in games on Christmas Day : 395
• Second highest total score in Allstar games: 290 (as of July 11, 2017)
• Youngest player to score 30,000 points (at the time, Bryant was 34 years and 104 days old; the record was broken by LeBron James in the 2017/18 season )

81-point game

On January 22, 2006, Bryant reached in a game against the Toronto Raptors with 81 points, the second highest score ever reached in the NBA (after the 100 points from Wilt Chamberlain ). This is the highest number of points that has been achieved since the introduction of the 3-point line. Bryant's own teammates asked him to sign the box scores (printed game statistics) after the game .

Shortly before that, he had scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks before voluntarily leaving the game, as it was already decided by then (the Lakers had 95 points, Dallas only 61). On February 3, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points in an away game against the New York Knicks, a new stadium record at Madison Square Garden , which lasted until January 24, 2014 - Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points.

Controversy

Abuse allegation

On July 17, 2003, a 19-year-old hotel worker accused Bryant of rape. He denied this, but admitted to having committed adultery. The trial began on 9 October 2003 in Eagle ( Colorado ). It was suspended on September 1, 2004 because the woman refused to testify. Bryant apologized and said she understood that she "saw this incident differently." A civil lawsuit resulted in an out-of-court settlement.

Bryant's image was damaged by the process, and numerous sponsors terminated their advertising contracts with him. After the trial was closed in the summer of 2005, its main sponsor Nike returned to advertising with Kobe Bryant; among other things, Kobe also had its own Nike trademark .

character

After the turbulent 2003/04 season , in which the Lakers lost the finals as big favorites against the Detroit Pistons , coach Phil Jackson wrote in his book The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul that Bryant was extremely talented, but also show a strange mix of arrogance, narrow-mindedness and immaturity. This is shown by the fact that he apparently felt that he was being treated unfairly by the Lakers during his rape trial because the Lakers-sponsored plane in which he flew to the trials was too small for him, and that Bryant had a habit of apparently giving him unpleasant instructions to nod off and then not implement. Bryant comes off very negatively in this book; compared to Shaquille O'Neal, portrayed as childish but loyal (with whom Bryant had a long-standing feud at the time), Karl Malone , Rick Fox or Derek Fisher, described as professional team players, or the honestly failing Gary Payton .

Others

Bryant on a fadeaway

• His parents named it after the famous Kobe steak from Kobe , Japan , after reading it on a restaurant menu.
• As a high school freshman, Bryant wore the number 24 before moving to 33 in honor of his father. Since he could not use this shirt number with the Lakers (the 33 was worn by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and has not been awarded since then), he first chose the number 8 - the cross sum of the number 143, his starting number in a viewing competition. For the 2006/07 season he moved back to the 24.
• Kobe Bryant had given himself the nickname "Black Mamba" because he had taken the precision and speed of the snake of the same name as a model for his basketball game.
• At the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest, Bryant judged the dunks along with Michael Jordan , Dominique Wilkins , Julius Erving and Vince Carter .
• On March 16, 2007, Kobe Bryant scored 65 points against the Portland Trail Blazers . Two days later, on March 18, 2007, he contributed 50 points to the win against the Minnesota Timberwolves . Five days later on March 23, 2007, Bryant scored 60 points against the Memphis Grizzlies . One day later, on March 24, 2007, he again reached the 50-point mark, with which he made 50 or more points four times in a row. On March 25, the series ended with 43 points against the Golden State Warriors . Only Wilt Chamberlain reached more games in a row (with 7 games) in which he scored 50 or more points.
• On March 3, 2006, Kobe Bryant hit another NBA record when he hit 16,000 at the age of 27 years and 192 days. Point scored in his NBA career. He undercut the previous record holder Wilt Chamberlain by four days.
• On January 26, 2007, Bryant scored 32 points in the 97-106 defeat of his Los Angeles Lakers and at 28 years and 156 days became the youngest player to break the 18,000-point mark, again replacing Wilt Chamberlain as the record holder .
• On December 23, 2007, at the age of 29 years and 122 days, Bryant became the youngest player to cross the 20,000 point barrier. Wilt Chamberlain, the previous record holder, had achieved this at the age of 29 years and 134 days.
• On July 7, 2009, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson gave a speech at the memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
• On February 2, 2010, he scored 44 points in the 95: 93 defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies , with which he replaced Jerry West as all-time leading scorer at the Los Angeles Lakers .
• On February 2, 2011, Bryant reached 32 points and 11 assists in a win against the Houston Rockets and was able to score the 5,000. Assist in his career. He is one of seven players in the history of the NBA who could achieve 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists.
• On March 27, 2011, Bryant completed his 1,094 game in the Lakers jersey, replacing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the player who has played the most games for the Lakers from.
• On February 26, 2012, he became the player with the most points in All-Star Games, overtaking Michael Jordan. On February 19, 2017, he was replaced by LeBron James.
• On December 5, 2012, Bryant scored his 30,000. Point. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar achieved this value before him. According to him (as of January 24, 2018) Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James also scored over 30,000 points.
• On November 11, 2014, Bryant recorded the 13,418 discarded field throw of his career, replacing former Boston Celtics player John Havlicek , who previously held the record for the most discarded throws in NBA history.
• In a solemn ceremony on December 18, 2017, the Lakers announced that they would no longer use the numbers 8 and 24 that Bryant had worn.
• His name is used in the computer game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive when someone successfully kills an opponent with a grenade throw ("KOBE!"). This relates to its legendary throwing accuracy.

literature

• Elizabeth Kaye: Ain't No Tomorrow. Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty . Chicago 2002. ISBN 0-07-138736-6 (English)
• Joe Layden: Kobe. The Story of the NBA's Rising Young Star Kobe Bryant , New York 1998. ISBN 0-06-101377-3 (Eng.)
• Roland Lazenby: Mad Game. The NBA Education of Kobe Bryant . Chicago 2002. ISBN 0-8092-9605-5 (English)
• Jeffrey S. Shapiro and Jennifer Stevens: Kobe Bryant. The game of his life . New York 2004. ISBN 0-9748684-1-8 (English)

Web links

Commons : Kobe Bryant  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Kobe Bryant - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Kobe Bryant - player statistics on NBA .com (English)
• Kobe Bryant in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Kobe Bryant overtakes Michael Jordan

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jerry Crowe: 3 Text messages from press row. . . in latimes.com on May 23, 2008, accessed September 10, 2010.
2. ↑ Markus Unckrich: Kobe Bryant's revenge. Basket , August 23, 2019, accessed April 23, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Gabe Zaldivar: Kobe Bryant's new nickname 'Vino' Is in No Danger of Catching on. Bleacher Report , March 4, 2013, accessed April 23, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Mamba Out. ESPN , 2019, accessed April 23, 2020 . 
5. ^ Dan McCarney: Quote history of Kobe: The rookie. NBA (archive), April 11, 2016, accessed May 3, 2020 . 
6. ^ NN: Player biography. ( December 19, 2015 memento on Internet Archive ) Archived by: USA Basketball website; Colorado Springs, CO, January 7, 2011 (English)
7. ↑ usabasketball.com - All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster // B ( Memento from January 11, 2010 in the web archive archive.today )
8. ↑ All-Star Game Selections by Player. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (English). 
9. ↑ rewlynch Dec 25, 2017 at 11: 35a ET: Ranking the 25 greatest players in NBA history. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (American English). 
10. ↑ All-Time #NBArank: The greatest players ever. January 14, 2016, accessed April 20, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Le Buzz: Kobe Bryant wins Emmy for "Dear Basketball". On: Eurosport website; Issy-les-Moulineaux, May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
12. ↑ AP / cc: NBA legend: Basketball star Kobe Bryant wins an Oscar as a writer. In: welt.de . March 5, 2018, accessed May 10, 2020 . 
13. ↑ NBA legend Kobe Bryant posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In: spox.com. April 5, 2020, accessed May 10, 2020 . 
14. ↑ cnn.com: AC Milan fan Kobe Bryant
15. ↑ ^{a b c d} nba.com: Player biography ( Memento from March 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
16. ↑ Mario Galgano : "USA: Archbishop prays for dead basketball star Kobe Bryant" , Vatican News of January 27, 2020.
17. ↑ Chad Pecknold: "The Catholic faith of Kobe Bryant" , Catholic Herald, January 27, 2020 (English)
18. ↑ (dpa): Kobe Bryant as the first athlete on Walk of (Fame) ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Archived from Südkurier website; Constance , date covered by advertising band
19. ↑ Sports image: Top 10: The top earners of the NBA , March 9, 2013.
20. ↑ Arthur Villasanta: Kobe Bryant Net Worth: Mamba Is Second Highest Paid NBA Player Ever Before Death. In: ibtimes.com. International Business Times , January 26, 2020, accessed January 27, 2020 . 
21. ↑ Kobe Bryant . Forbes . 2016. Accessed January 27, 2020.
22. ↑ Report: Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash. In: focus.de. Focus Online, January 26, 2020, accessed January 26, 2020 . 
23. ↑ Steven Rosenberg: Map: Kobe Bryant helicopter route from takeoff to deadly crash. In: dailynews.com. Los Angeles Daily News, January 26, 2020, accessed January 28, 2020 . 
24. ↑ Despite thick fog: Kobe Bryant's helicopter got special permission. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel, January 27, 2020, accessed on January 28, 2020 . 
25. ↑ ASN users: Accident Sikorsky S-76B N72EX, Jan 26, 2020. Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , January 31, 2020, accessed on February 2, 2020 . 
26. ↑ Death of Kobe Bryant: US authorities determine the cause of the crash. In: faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, January 28, 2020, accessed on January 29, 2020 . 
27. ↑ Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash. Welt.de , January 27, 2020, accessed on January 27, 2020 . 
28. ↑ Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash. In: welt.de. Die Welt, January 27, 2020, accessed on January 29, 2020 . 
29. ↑ NN: Victims In Kobe Bryant Crash Have Now All Been Identified. On: CBS Local website; Los Angeles, CA, January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020 (in English).
30. ↑ Kobe Bryant And Daughter Gianna Laid To Rest In Corona Del Mar. patch.com, February 12, 2020, accessed February 13, 2020 . 
31. ↑ Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna were buried last Friday in a private family ceremony in Orange County. dailymail.co. uk, February 12, 2020, accessed on February 13, 2020 . 
32. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kobe Bryant on: NBA website; New York, NY, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
33. ↑ espn.com: Lakers receive championship rings
34. ↑ ^{a b} basketball-reference.com: career statistics
35. ↑ nba.com: Lakers vs. Hawks , March 8, 2011.
36. ^ NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Points
37. ↑ Kobe claims scoring mark ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
38. ↑ Rockets rout Lakers 108-90 in Kobe's return
39. ↑ Kobe Bryant becomes NBA's No. 3 all-time scorers in Lakers' win
40. ↑ Kobe Bryant to have shoulder surgery
41. ↑ Bryant announces the end of his career sport1.de November 30, 2015
42. ↑ 60 points! Farewell Kobe Show
43. ↑ ^{a b} Kobe Bryant Stats. In: basketball-reference.com. April 16, 2000, accessed May 10, 2020 . 
44. ^ ORF : First MVP title for "Paulus" Bryant ( Memento from May 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
45. ↑ ^{a b} NBA All-Star Career Stats | Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2017 . 
46. ↑ Marvin Rishi Krishan: Obituary for NBA superstar Kobe Bryant: Mamba Out. In: Spiegel Online . January 27, 2020, accessed May 10, 2020 . 
47. ↑ Lakers defeat Rockets , February 11, 2011.
48. ↑ Kevin Ding: Kobe passes Kareem for most Lakers games . On: Orange County Register website; Anaheim, CA, March 29, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018.