Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbiː/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Bryant is the youngest child of three children of his family. His father was also a basketball player and coach.
Bryant played a career total of 20 years in the National Basketball Association. He played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers as a shooting guard.
During the 2005–2006 season, he scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors.
Bryant retired on April 13, 2016 after scoring 60 points in a Lakers win against the Utah Jazz.
He won an Oscar and Emmy for his movie Dear Basketball.
Championships and awards
Kobe Bryant won five championship rings from 2000 to 2002, and again in 2009–2010. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the 2007-08 NBA season after the Los Angeles Lakers went to the 2008 NBA Playoffs as the first seed in the Western Conference was the winner of 18 times NBA all-star, 15-time member of the All-NBA team, 12-time member of the all-defensive team and 1-time slam dunk champion.
In 2008, Bryant won a gold medal with the United States national team at the Olympics in Beijing.
Bryant earned 14 selections for All-NBA teams and 12 for All-Defensive teams. He led the league in scoring twice. He received 4 all-star game MVPs in 14 appearances. He also won 2 finals MVP awards.
He was also the youngest player to reach 30,000 points, passing Shaquille O Neal and Michael Jordan and becoming third on the all-time scoring list. Bryant is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history.
Sexual assault investigation
In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado, arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee. In September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after the accuser refused to testify at the trial.
Helicopter crash
On January 26, 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California that was intended to go to the Camarillo Airport, at the age of 41. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant, and seven others also died in the crash.
Tributes
On February 24, a public funeral service was held at the Staple Center with Bryant's widow Vanessa and basketball legends such as Michael Jordan making speeches.
In games after the crash, some teams took intention 24-second shot clock or 8-second backcourt violations to honor Bryant since both 24 and 8 were his jersey numbers.
During the 2020 WNBA draft, Bryant's daughter Gianna, along with Alyssa Altobelli and Payton Chester were all made honorary draft picks.
On February 8, 2024, a 19-foot bronze statue of Bryant was unveiled in the Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena.
On May 15, 2021, Bryant was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame by his widow Vanessa.
Notes
- ↑ In 2006, Bryant said that he was 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m). In 2008, he stated he was "probably" 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) in shoes.
References
- ↑ Mallozzi, Vincent (December 24, 2006). "'Where's Kobe? I Want Kobe.'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013.
- ↑ Ding, Kevin (January 8, 2008). "Kobe Bryant's work with kids brings joy, though sometimes it's fleeting". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Kobe Bryant Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - Los Angeles Lakers - ESPN". espn.go.com. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Kobe's basketball roots in Philly might run deeper than you realize". WHYY. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
- ↑ "Kobe's 81-point game second only to Wilt". ESPN. January 23, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Kobe Bryant". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ↑ "Kobe Bryant Olympics - Kobe Bryant commits to 2012 Olympics - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. 2 November 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ↑ SI Staff (December 23, 2003). "Bryant distracted, scared amid sex assault case". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
- ↑ Moore, David Leon (February 12, 2004). "Shaq, Kobe still main keys to Lakers' fortunes". USA Today. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
- ↑ "Rape Case Against Bryant Dismissed". NBC Sports. September 2, 2004. Archived from the original on October 3, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ Lambe, Stacy. "Kobe Bryant Dies in Helicopter Crash: Report". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ↑ "NBA, sports worlds mourn the death of Kobe Bryant". ESPN.com. January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ↑ "The world said goodbye to Kobe and Gianna Bryant in an emotional and star-studded celebration of their lives". CNN. February 25, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Kobe Bryant death: NBA teams honor Lakers legend with 24-second, 8-second violations to start games". CBS Sports. January 26, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Gianna among 3 named honorary WNBA picks". ESPN. April 17, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Kobe Bryant immortalized with 19-foot bronze statue outside the Lakers' arena". National Basketball Association. February 8, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ↑ "Complete coverage: Kobe Bryant's Hall of Fame induction". Los Angeles Times. May 12, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
Other websites
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
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