Kobe Bean Bryant
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Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history. He won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, was named Finals MVP twice, and earned the 2008 MVP award. In 2018, he won an Oscar for the animated short film Dear Basketball. Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in 2020 at age 41.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Kobe Bryant — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Kobe Bryant by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Kobe Bryant — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Kobe Bean Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1978, to former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pam Bryant. He lived in Italy from ages 6 to 13, where his father played basketball, and he became fluent in Italian. At Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, Bryant was named Naismith Player of the Year and Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s Southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record with 2,883 points.
Bryant declared for the 1996 NBA draft directly from high school and was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. As a rookie, he won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest and became the youngest All-Star starter in 1998. Alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. After O’Neal’s departure, he led the NBA in scoring in 2005-06 and 2006-07, and on January 22, 2006, he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors — the second-highest single-game total in league history. Bryant won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, earning Finals MVP both times. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in 2013, and after two injury-shortened seasons, he retired following a 60-point final game on April 13, 2016. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball 2017.
Bryant married Vanessa Laine on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. The couple had four daughters: Natalia born 2003, Gianna 2006-2020, Bianka born 2016, and Capri born 2019. In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexual assault stemming from an incident with a 19-year-old hotel employee. The criminal charges were dropped after the accuser declined to testify, and a civil lawsuit was settled out of court with Bryant issuing a public apology. Bryant and Gianna died together in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, along with seven others. They are buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame posthumously elected Bryant in 2020, and the NBA named him to the 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The NBA renamed the All-Star Game MVP award the Kobe Bryant MVP Award in his honor. He remains the all-time leading scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers and is the only player in NBA history to have multiple jerseys No. 8 and No. 24 retired by the same franchise. Bryant also won two Olympic gold medals 2008, 2012 and is the only person to have both an Olympic medal and an Oscar. He is remembered for his relentless work ethic, competitive drive, and the nickname Black Mamba.
Browse the complete filmography of Kobe Bryant — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Kobe Bryant — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Kobe Bryant's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Kobe Bryant — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Look at a Boy Like Daniel, Who Truly Is a Miracle Baby, and I Thank God That I’m in a Position to Help Make His World a Little Brighter. but He Made My World a Little Brighter, Too. If I Was His Christmas Present Today, Than He Was Mine.
The Topic of Leadership Is a Touchy One. a Lot of Leaders Fail Because They Don’t Have the Bravery to Touch That Nerve or Strike That Chord. Throughout My Years, I Haven’t Had That Fear.
Little-known facts about Kobe Bryant — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Only basketball player to ever win an Oscar.
Made his NBA debut at 18 years, 2 months and 11 days old, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game on November 3, 1996.
On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest single-game scoring output in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points. He converted 28 of 46 field goals including 7 of 13 three-pointers and 18 of 20 free throws.
Met his wife Vanessa Bryant while visiting the set of a Snoop Dogg music video where she was working as a model.
Scored 1,080 on his SATs.
As of 2018, the only person to win an Olympic gold medal two: 2008 and 2012 and an Oscar Best Animated Short, 2018.
Scored 60 points in his final NBA game on April 13, 2016.
Widow Vanessa Bryant is half-Irish and half-Mexican.
From ages 6 to 13, he lived in Italy, where his father played professional basketball, and became fluent in Italian.
Bryant became the youngest starter in NBA All-Star Game history when he was voted a starter for the Western Conference in 1998, leading the West with 18 points.
Once scored 50 points in four consecutive games during his career.
Once scored 40 points in nine consecutive games during his career.
Won the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Competition.
Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets out of high school in 1996 and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac on July 11, 1996.
His father, Joe Bryant, averaged 8.7 points per game in 606 NBA career games.
Drafted 13th overall out of Lower Merion High School by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac on June 26, 1996.
Colorado judge dismissed all rape charges in 2004; Bryant issued a letter of apology to the accuser and her parents while admitting no wrongdoing. The civil trial was later settled.
Named NBA All-Star in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Had four daughters: Natalia born January 19, 2003, Gianna May 1, 2006 – January 26, 2020, Bianka born December 5, 2016, and Capri born June 20, 2019 with wife Vanessa.
Bryant became the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania schoolboy history with 2,883 points, surpassing Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain 2,359 and Carlin Warley 2,441.
In November 2009, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Lakers’ all-time scorers list, ranking second behind Jerry West.
Bryant and Gianna are buried at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar, California.
Scored six 60-point games during his career.
His parents named him after a type of steak Kobe seen on a restaurant menu prior to his birth.
Ten million people in China tuned in to watch his final NBA game.
Brandy Norwood was his date for his high school prom.
By age 30, he had won three NBA championships, league MVP, and an Olympic gold medal, which he earned on his 30th birthday at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Before his final game, Lakers Executive Vice President Jeanie Buss presented Bryant and his wife Vanessa with commemorative rings featuring five large diamonds for his five championships and 20 smaller diamonds for his 20 seasons with the team.
Named MVP of the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.
Forbes Magazine estimated his 2007 earnings at $33 million.
Selected by USA Today and Parade Magazine as National High School Player of the Year as a senior at Lower Merion, also receiving the Naismith and Gatorade Player of the Year awards and McDonald’s All-America honors.
Married his wife Vanessa at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California.
Had two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya Bryant.
Won the 2001 and 2002 Teen Choice Awards for favorite male athlete.
Participated in an NBA fund-raising basketball game for Hurricane Katrina victims in September 2005 and also visited victims in New Orleans.
Announced his retirement from the NBA in December 2015.
Signed a two-year contract extension with the Lakers for a reported $48.5 million in 2013.
As of September 2016, his net worth was estimated at $280 million.
The Charlotte Hornets traded him in 1996 to the Lakers for Vlade Divac, who remained a journeyman center, while Bryant became a Hall of Fame guard compared to Michael Jordan.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, along with seven others, died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. The Sikorsky S-76 helicopter had taken off from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California.
On July 27, 1996, he signed his first professional contract.
His wife changed her name from Vanessa Cornejo Urbieta Laine to Vanessa Marie Bryant on May 29, 2002.
Led the Lakers to five NBA titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010.
Graduated with the class of 1996 from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
The civil lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in September 2004.
Hired criminal defense attorney Pamela Mackey to defend him against rape charges.
Recorded a song with Tyra Banks called K.O.B.E. which was released as a single, though the full album was never released.
His public feud with former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal led to a game between the Miami Heat and the Lakers becoming a Christmas Day tradition.
Tore his Achilles tendon in 2013.
Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, with the induction ceremony postponed to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Kobe Bryant.
Celebrities similar to Kobe Bryant — same craft, ranked by reach.
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