biography of kobe bryant

Kobe Bryant

Former pro basketball player Kobe Bryant won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers while establishing himself as one of the game's all-time greats. He died tragically in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.

(1978-2020)

Who Was Kobe Bryant?

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Named after a city in Japan, Bryant is the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

In 1984, after ending his NBA career, the elder Bryant took the family to Italy, where he played in the Italian League. Growing up in Italy alongside two athletic older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, Bryant was an avid player of both basketball and soccer. When the family returned to Philadelphia in 1991, Bryant joined the Lower Merion High School basketball team, leading it to the state championships four years in a row. With an eye on the NBA, he also started working out with the 76ers.

Though he boasted good grades and high SAT scores, Bryant decided to go straight to the NBA from high school. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA Career and Stats

In his second season with the Lakers, Bryant was voted a starter for the 1998 All-Star Game, becoming the youngest All-Star in NBA history at 19. The shooting guard then teamed up with superstar center Shaquille O'Neal to win three consecutive NBA championships and was voted first-team all-NBA from 2002-2004. He also inked multi-year endorsement deals with Adidas, Sprite and other top sponsors.

Although the Lakers struggled after O'Neal left in 2004, Bryant performed brilliantly. He scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006, the second-highest single-game mark in NBA history, and led the league in scoring that year and the next.

In 2008, Bryant was named Most Valuable Player and carried his team to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. In the 2009 NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the championship. Shortly afterward, Bryant was part of the memorial service to honor friend and music superstar Michael Jackson . The following year, the Lakers won their second straight title by defeating the Celtics.

Bryant played on both the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams, winning consecutive gold medals with teammates Kevin Durant , LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony , among several other top players.

After suffering a torn Achilles tendon in April 2013, Bryant worked hard to return to the court before fracturing his knee just six games into the 2013-2014 season. The veteran All-Star surpassed Michael Jordan for third all-time on the NBA scoring list in December 2014, but his season ended due to injury for the third straight year when he sustained a torn rotator cuff in January 2015.

Although Bryant returned in time for the start of the 2015-2016 NBA season, he personally struggled alongside his young Lakers teammates. In November 2015, he announced that he would retire at the end of the season. "This season is all I have left to give," he wrote on The Players' Tribune website. "My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."

The announcement drew a strong reaction, particularly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game," Silver said in a statement. "Whether competing in the finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game."

On April 13, 2016, Bryant dazzled a sold-out crowd at the Staples Center and fans everywhere in the last game of his career, scoring 60 points and leading the Lakers to a win against the Utah Jazz. It was Bryant’s sixth 60-point game of his career.

After the game, Bryant spoke to the crowd. "I can't believe how fast 20 years went by," he said. "This is absolutely crazy ... and to be standing at center court with you guys, my teammates behind me, appreciating the journey that we've been on — we've been through our ups, been through our downs. I think the most important part is we all stayed together throughout."

An all-star lineup of Laker icons also paid tribute to Bryant, including O’Neal, Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Magic Johnson . "We are here to celebrate greatness for 20 years," Johnson said. "Excellence for 20 years. Kobe Bryant has never cheated the game, never cheated us as the fans. He has played through injury, he has played hurt. And we have five championship banners to show for it."

Academy Award for 'Dear Basketball'

In November 2015, Bryant announced his upcoming retirement from the Lakers with a poem on The Players' Tribune website, titled "Dear Basketball." The athletic great soon sought the best in other fields to turn his poem into a short film, including Disney animator Glen Keane and composer John Williams .

The result was a beautifully rendered five-minute, 20-second film, which debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Oscar voters took note, leading to the unexpected sight of Bryant accepting an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 2018 ceremony.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's short films and animation branch also extended an invitation for Bryant to become a member of the organization. However, in June 2018 it was revealed that the Academy's governors committee had rescinded the invitation, saying the retired basketball great needed to show more efforts in the field before being considered for membership.

Sexual Assault Charge

In July 2003, Bryant was charged with one count of sexual assault on a 19-year-old female hotel worker in Colorado. Bryant said he was guilty of adultery but innocent of the rape charge. The case against Bryant was dismissed in 2004, and he settled the civil lawsuit filed by the hotel worker against him out of court.

Philanthropy

Among his philanthropic endeavors, the basketball great partnered with the non-profit After-School All-Stars as part of the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. He also ran an annual summer camp called the Kobe Basketball Academy.

Wife and Children

Bryant married 19-year-old Vanessa Laine in April 2001. The couple became parents to four daughters: Natalia Diamante (b. 2003), Gianna Maria-Onore (b. 2006, d. 2020), Bianka (b. 2016) and Capri (b. 2019).

On January 26, 2020, Bryant was onboard a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that crashed in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Nine people, including Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna "Gigi," died. The helicopter was on its way from Orange County to Thousands Oaks, California where Bryant was scheduled to coach a tournament game at Mamba Sports Academy .

"We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri," Bryant's wife Vanessa posted on Instagram . "There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now. I take comfort in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever. They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon."

Bryant and his daughter were laid to rest in a private funeral on February 7, 2020. On February 24, they were honored in a memorial service at the Staples Center, with Beyoncé and Alicia Keys delivering musical tributes and Jordan, Shaq and wife Vanessa among those sharing emotional recollections of the basketball great and family man.

On April 4, 2020, Bryant was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In February 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled that pilot Ara Zobayan was “flying under visual flight orders, or VFR, which legally prohibited him from penetrating the clouds,” likely causing him to be disoriented.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1978
• Birth date: August 23, 1978
• Birth State: Pennsylvania
• Birth City: Philadelphia
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Former pro basketball player Kobe Bryant won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers while establishing himself as one of the game's all-time greats. He died tragically in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020.
• Astrological Sign: Virgo
• Lower Merion High School
• Death Year: 2020
• Death date: January 26, 2020
• Death State: California
• Death City: Calabasas
• Death Country: United States

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

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Kobe Bryant

The making of a global superstar.

By Matias Grez, Patrick Sung and Ben Church, CNN

T he sporting world and beyond is mourning the death of Kobe Bryant, aged 41. The NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine on board a helicopter that crashed on Sunday.

CNN looks back at 24 defining moments in the career of an NBA great, who mesmerized, broke records and transcended his sport.

The world reacts to Kobe Bryant's death 1:48

Kobe Bean Bryant is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pam and Joe Bryant, who is a professional basketball player. Bryant is named after Kobe beef, a type of Wagyu steak from Japan’s Kobe region. His middle name – Bean -- is derived from his father’s nickname, Jellybean.

European adventure

After his father retires from the NBA in 1983, the Bryant family moves to Italy where his Dad continues to play basketball until 1991.

After being named National High School Player of the Year and the Naismith Player of the Year, Bryant is selected by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th pick in the NBA’s first round of the draft. On July 11, 1996, Bryant is traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Bryant plays in his debut NBA season -- mainly coming off the bench for the Lakers -- and becomes both the youngest player (18 years and 72 days) and the youngest starter (18 years and 158 days) in league history.

All-Star debut

After becoming the youngest ever Slam Dunk Contest winner in 1997, Bryant goes on to play in the All-Star game a year later to become the youngest All-Star starter in history.

First NBA title

Despite a frosty relationship, Bryant and Shaquille O’Neil form an unstoppable center-guard partnership to lead the Lakers to three successive NBA titles, which is dubbed the “Three-peat.” Bryant becomes the youngest player to win three championships.

All-Star MVP

Bryant leads The West to victory over The East in the 2002 All-Star game, scoring 31 points and recording five assists and five rebounds to be named All-Star MVP for the first time. He is to pick up that accolade again in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, gives birth to their first child, daughter Natalia. The couple have another three children, Gianna (pictured), 13, who died along with Bryant in Sunday’s crash, Bianca, three, and Capri, seven months.

Sexual assault case

Bryant is charged with one count of sexual assault in a case involving a 19-year-old hotel worker. The charge accuses Bryant of "sexual penetration or intrusion and (that) he caused submission of the victim through actual physical force," according to District Attorney Mark Hurlbert.

September 1

Charges dropped.

The criminal sexual assault charge is dropped.

Civil lawsuit

Bryant’s accuser agrees to settle her civil lawsuit. The terms of the settlement are not disclosed.

Bryant scores 81 points in the Lakers' 122-104 win over Toronto. To this day it remains the second-highest points tally in a single game, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

After leading the Lakers to a 4-0 demolition of the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2007-08 playoffs, Bryant is named as the league MVP for the first and only time in his career.

An all-star Team USA -- with Bryant as captain -- sweeps aside all in its path to be crowned Olympic champion at Beijing 2008. It’s dubbed the “Redeem Team,” a play on the famous “Dream Team” nickname of the 1992 side, following the disappointing bronze medal in Athens four years prior.

Bryant leads the Lakers to a first NBA title since 2002 and is named Finals MVP for the first time in his career. He records 40 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in Game 1 as the Lakers go on to win 4-1.

For the second season in a row, Bryant is named the NBA Finals MVP as the Lakers win consecutive titles. The Lakers win Game 6 to avoid elimination against the Boston Celtics and recover from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 7 to take the title.

December 16

After staying with Bryant through the sexual assault allegations and after his public apology for cheating on his wife, Vanessa files for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.” On January 11, 2013 the couple publicly announce their reconciliation and remain married up until Bryant’s death.

Second gold medal

Bryant helps Team USA win a second straight Olympic gold medal, beating Spain 107-100 in the final in a rematch of four years earlier.

December 14

Surpasses michael jordan.

In a 100–94 victory over Minnesota, Bryant reaches 32,310 career points to move into third on the NBA's all-time scoring list and overtake Michael Jordan’s tally of 32,310.

November 29

Announces retirement.

In a poetic post on The Players' Tribune, Bryant announces that he will retire at the end of the NBA season. He later tells reporters he is "at peace" with his decision.

Bryant scores an incredible 60 points in the final game of his career, helping the Lakers defeat the Utah Jazz 101-96. He is swarmed by players and coaches on court after the game.

December 18

Lakers retire jerseys.

Following his retirement, the LA Lakers retire both of Bryant's famous jersey numbers -- No. 8 and No. 24 -- during a ceremony at the Staples Center.

Bryant adds an Academy Award to his plethora of trophies, winning an Oscar for best short animated film -- "Dear Basketball" -- based on a poem he wrote.

Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna are among nine people killed when a helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California. The news shocks the world with tributes pouring in for the NBA legend.

Design + development: Mark Oliver, Woojin Lee, Caitlin Clancy, Byron Manley and Sean O'Key

Additional images: Getty Images

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Kobe Bryant’s Brilliant and Complicated Legacy

Bryant, who died with his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash on Sunday, was an unquestioned basketball great, but his legacy is not so straightforward.

The Lakers retired Bryant’s jerseys — Nos. 8 and 24 — during a ceremony on Dec. 18, 2017. Credit... Harry How/Getty Images

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By Marc Stein

• Published Jan. 26, 2020 Updated Feb. 25, 2020

Kobe Bryant , who made the leap directly from high school to a glittering 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers that established him as one of basketball’s all-time greats, was among nine people killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday north of Los Angeles. Bryant was 41.

The crash also killed Gianna Bryant , 13, the second oldest of Kobe Bryant’s four daughters with his wife, Vanessa. They were traveling from the family’s base in Orange County, Calif., to Thousand Oaks, 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. A budding star herself, Gianna was scheduled to play an afternoon game with her travel team, coached by her father, at Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy.

News of Bryant’s death predictably rocked the N.B.A., which is filled with players who grew up watching Bryant as he won five championships with the Lakers and scored 81 points in a single game. Fueled by a seemingly endless reservoir of self-confidence, Bryant was a mammoth figure almost from the moment he arrived, at age 17, as the 13th overall pick in the 1996 N.B.A. draft.

The son of the former N.B.A. player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets on behalf of the Lakers and did not try — at all — to hide his ambition to surpass the accomplishments of the legendary Michael Jordan. Charlotte had agreed going into the draft to trade Bryant’s rights to Los Angeles in exchange for the veteran center Vlade Divac.

Over the next 20 seasons , Bryant earned 18 All-Star selections, a regular-season Most Valuable Player Award in 2008 and two N.B.A. finals M.V.P. awards to go with his five championship rings and two Olympic gold medals. Amid all of that, a sexual assault allegation against him in 2003 would change how many people saw Bryant, though he remained hugely popular among N.B.A. fans and especially Angelenos, for whom he increasingly became synonymous with the Lakers — the only team, despite a trade demand in 2007, that Bryant ever played for.

The trade that made Bryant a Laker was engineered by the team’s general manager at the time, Jerry West, who was instantly smitten by Bryant’s fearlessness and prodigious talent. A standout at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., outside Philadelphia, Bryant had auditioned for the Lakers in a predraft workout featuring a series of one-on-one drills against the former Lakers defensive ace Michael Cooper, then a 40-year-old assistant coach.

Only a few high schoolers had gone straight to the N.B.A. at that point — and Bryant would be the first guard to do so. But West left the workout early, declaring that he had seen enough. “He’s better than anybody on our team right now,” West famously told fellow Lakers staffers of Bryant’s performance.

As West envisioned, Bryant indeed helped restore the Lakers to glory — albeit with no shortage of turmoil along the way. He did so first alongside the Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal for three consecutive drama-filled N.B.A. championships in the 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, then as the team’s unquestioned fulcrum for two more titles in 2008-09 and 2009-10. With a drive to rival Jordan’s and an ability to tune out critics who at times assailed his ball dominance and shot selection, Bryant was the central and enduring figure in one of the most gripping soap operas in modern professional team sports.

By the time he walked away from the N.B.A. in April 2016, after an unforgettable 60-point farewell game against the Utah Jazz, Bryant had built an unmatched legacy that persuaded the Lakers to retire both jersey numbers he wore over two 10-season stretches: No. 8 and No. 24. In perhaps the ultimate Bryant flourish, that 60-point game on the final day of the 2015-16 regular season — in which he hoisted 50 shots — upstaged the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who had defeated the Memphis Grizzlies on the same night to secure the best single-season record in league history (73-9).

Bryant is widely expected to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in late August, the first time he is eligible. He led the league in scoring twice and finished his career with 33,643 points in the regular season, which put him at No. 3 among N.B.A. scoring leaders, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) until the Lakers’ LeBron James passed Bryant on Saturday night in Philadelphia.

Bryant tweeted his congratulations to James on Saturday night, some 15 hours before the crash, writing: “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother.”

As Bryant began his climb up the scoring charts, O’Neal nicknamed the brash teenager “Showboat,” but the term was not meant to flatter. Veterans on that Lakers team tried in vain to keep Bryant’s rookie ambitions modest — with O’Neal particularly determined to make it clear that he was the team’s true alpha.

But Bryant could not be harnessed. After some notable playoff failures, Bryant broke through as a champion in his fourth season, forming a devastating partnership with O’Neal under the coaching tutelage of Phil Jackson.

“Kobe didn’t care about night life or anything else,” Del Harris, who coached Bryant for his first two N.B.A. seasons and the start of his third, told The New York Times in December 2017 . “He only had one interest. His only focus was to be the best that he could be. And in his mind that meant challenging Michael Jordan.”

“People can argue,” Harris continued, “how close he actually came, but there’s no question that he fulfilled pretty much all of his dreams.”

Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006 to register the second-highest scoring output in league history, behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962. But Bryant’s reputation was more complicated than all his accolades would suggest.

He was charged with felony sexual assault in 2003 stemming from an incident at a Colorado hotel in which Bryant was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman who worked at the property as a front-desk clerk. Prosecutors eventually dropped the case when the woman told them she was unwilling to testify. Bryant later issued an apology, saying he understood that the woman, unlike himself, did not view their encounter as consensual. A lawsuit the woman brought against Bryant was later settled out of court.

In the closing stages of Bryant’s career, well beyond the days of “Showboat,” Bryant began giving himself nicknames, such as “Black Mamba” and, later, “Vino.” The frequent helicopter rides he took to games at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles — to avoid traffic and maximize time at home — only added to his mystique.

In addition to making his name as one of the sport’s most relentless competitors, Bryant was known for a special ability to play through injuries.

The one that managed to slow him the longest was a torn left Achilles’ tendon late in the 2012-13 season. Of course, stubborn as he was, Bryant did not want to accept the on-court diagnosis he received from Gary Vitti, the longtime Lakers athletic trainer.

“I told him it’s ruptured and he’s done,” Vitti told The Times in December 2017. “He said, ‘Can’t you just tape it up?’”

Given the intense focus that governed Bryant’s playing career, many league observers questioned how he would cope outside the game, without an outlet for his uber-competitiveness. But Bryant was flourishing in retirement, entering the world of storytelling and winning an Academy Award by transforming a poem to announce his retirement into an animated short film (“Dear Basketball”) that he wrote and narrated.

He had also been drawn back to the N.B.A. by his daughter Gianna’s love for it. On Dec. 29, Bryant sat with her courtside at Staples Center to watch the Lakers play the Dallas Mavericks and take pictures afterward with Luka Doncic, the Mavericks’ young Slovenian star.

“My friend, a legend, husband, father, son, brother, Oscar winner and greatest Laker of all-time is gone,” Magic Johnson, the Hall of Fame Lakers guard and Bryant’s boyhood hero, wrote on Twitter . “It’s hard to accept.”

Marc Stein is a sports reporter specializing in N.B.A. coverage, with occasional forays into soccer and tennis. He spent nearly 15 years at ESPN before coming to The Times. More about Marc Stein

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Kobe BRYANT

Regarded as one of the best American basketball players of all time, Kobe Bryant played a decisive role in Team USA’s Olympic triumphs of 2008 and 2012. He died tragically in a helicopter crash, at the age of 41, on 26 January 2020.

Born to shoot hoops

Born in Philadelphia, Kobe Bryant is the youngest of three offspring of former basketball player and coach, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant. By the age of three, he was already at home on the basketball court. Having spent the early part of his childhood in Italy, where his father was playing for the Rieti club, in 1996, aged 18 and 158 days, Bryant became the youngest player in history to start a game in the NBA - the US professional basketball league - when he made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. He would remain with the Lakers for the rest of his career, helping them to win five NBA titles and notching a record 30,000 points in the process.

The ‘Redeem Team’

Nicknamed “the Black Mamba”, Bryant and his co-star LeBron James were the leaders of the USA’s ‘Redeem Team’, which went to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing tasked with exorcising the demons of Athens 2004, where the USA had been eliminated in the semi-finals by Argentina. Bryant was in brilliant form throughout the tournament, not least in the final against Spain. With Team USA clinging to the most fragile of leads (91-89) with eight minutes left, Kobe went into overdrive, making his presence felt on every inch of the court. In the final quarter, he scored 13 points, chipped in with three assists, and produced two vital blocks at the other end to help secure a 118-107 victory in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball matches of all time.

Kobe strikes gold again in London

In 2009 and 2010, Bryant clinched his fourth and fifth NBA titles and was voted MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the final each time. At the age of 34, he then focused his attentions on helping Team USA defend their Olympic crown at London 2012. “It’s a huge honour for me, because I’ve always wanted to play for [Team USA],” he said, before revealing that London would be his Olympic swansong. “This will definitely be my last Olympic Games so it has a lot of symbolism to it.”

As captain of Team USA, Bryant lit up the London stage with each one of his appearances. Among the numerous highlights was a personal haul of 20 second-half points against Australia, which included four consecutive three-pointers, several decisive actions in the semi-final against Argentina, and 17 valuable points in the final against Spain, which helped secure a 107-100 victory and a second consecutive Olympic gold.

Call to action for International Olympic Day

After beginning another fine NBA season for the Lakers, Kobe suffered a serious Achilles’ tendon injury in April 2013. During his recovery, he joined forces with the IOC ahead of International Olympic Day on 23 June, with a ‘call-out to people around the world to get involved: “I can’t run, I can’t jump and I can’t swim yet,” he said. “So I need you guys to pick up the slack for me and be doubly active.” It was a message that typified the boundless enthusiasm and civic spirit of this truly extraordinary athlete.

Glittering end to an illustrious career

The end of Bryant’s career was blighted by injury, but the appearances he did make on the court saw him surpass the 33,000-point mark in the regular season and rack up more than 6,000 career assists. In December 2015, he wrote a moving open letter, entitled “Dear Basketball”, to announce his retirement from the sport. In his final NBA match on 13 April 2016, Bryant scored 60 points (making 22 out of a career-high 50 attempted shots and bagging 6 out of 21 three-pointers) to help the Lakers claim a 101-96 victory over Utah Jazz. On 18 December 2017, he became the first player to have two jersey numbers retired by the same team, having worn 8 and 24 over the course of his 20-year career with the Lakers. Bryant’s poetic retirement letter was subsequently made into an animated short film, which won an Oscar in 2018. 

Tragic death

Tragedy struck the world of basketball and sport in general on 26 January 2020 when Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in California at the age of 41. All nine people on board, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in the crash. National and international tributes came flooding in from sports stars, fans and celebrities. Bryant truly made his mark on the history of basketball, and his death leaves an immense void.

"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do."

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 Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was a basketball prodigy whose physical gifts were off the chart, but it was his mental state of mind that elevated his game to otherworldly heights. Bryant honed his killer instinct, with his work ethic and never-give-an-inch mindset driving him to five NBA championships and eleven All-NBA First Team honors. The two-time Finals MVP scored 33,643 points during his career, with 81 of those daggers coming on January 22, 2006 in a game against the Toronto Raptors. The 18-time All-Star led the NBA in scoring four seasons and still managed to make the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team nine times, making him one of the best two-way players in history. Bryant was relentless, and when he matched wits with Shaquille O’Neal in 1996, there came a renewed sense that playing for the Los Angeles Lakers meant playing for the ring. Bryant and O’Neal opened the 21 st Century with three championships in a row. Bryant’s encore performance came in 2009 and again in 2010 when the Lakers went back-to-back.

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Professional career, career stats.

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Kobe Bryant Biography | Life, Lakers Career and Legacy

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When Bryant was 6 years old his father Joe retired from the NBA and moved the family to Italy where he would continue his basketball career overseas.

Bryant played both basketball and soccer while in Italy becoming huge fans of the Los Angeles Lakers as well as the A.C. Milan soccer team. When Bryant was 13 his family moved back to Philadelphia.

Bryant attended Lower Merion High School, starting on the varsity team as a freshman. He was named Philadelphia Player of the Year as a junior and a fourth team All-American. In Bryant’s senior season he was named both Gatorade and Naismith High School Basketball Player of the Year as well as being a McDonalds All-American. He led Lower Merion to their first state championship in 53 years and was Southeastern Pennsylvania’s all-time leading scorer.

Despite scholarship offers from nearly every major college, Bryant decided to enter the 1996 NBA Draft.

LAKERS CAREER

Kobe was drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets and immediately dealt to the Lakers for starting center Vlade Divac. Then-GM Jerry West had become enamored with Bryant following a workout in which he dominated former NBA players Michael Cooper and Larry Drew in scrimmages. This move also freed up salary cap space which the Lakers used to sign Shaquille O’Neal.

Kobe spent his first two seasons mostly as a reserve behind Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. He saw very limited minutes early on, but did become the youngest player to play in an NBA game when he made his debut, playing 6 scoreless minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bryant would score his first NBA point, a free throw, in the team’s next game against the New York Knicks.

As the season went on, Bryant gradually began to earn more minutes and became the youngest player to start an NBA game in a January 28 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. During All-Star Weekend Bryant would win the 1997 Slam Dunk Championship and his performance through the season earned an NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection.

The Lakers would make the second round of the playoffs that season, falling to the Utah Jazz 4-1. In the deciding fifth game, Bryant found himself on the floor down the stretch and in overtime, but airballed multiple shots as the Jazz would clinch the elimination.

Bryant remained a reserve for his second season, but his minutes increased and as a result, his scoring more than doubled. He would earn his first All-Star selection, along with teammates O’Neal, Jones, and Van Exel, and finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting to behind Toni Kukoc of the Chicago Bulls.

After the Lakers traded away Jones and Van Exel, Bryant became a full-time starter in his third season. He also signed a six-year, $70 extension with the Lakers during the season, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team.

Phil Jackson became the Lakers head coach ahead of the 1999-2000 season and his presence immediately paid dividends as he structured the famed triangle offense around Kobe and Shaq. The Lakers would win 67 games as O’Neal would win NBA MVP. Kobe grew immensely as well, being named to his first All-Defense First Team while also making All-NBA Second Team. He was also named to his second All-Star team, beginning a streak of 17 straight selections. On March 12, 2000, Kobe notched his first career 40-point game in a 109-106 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Kobe’s growth was even more evident in the playoffs. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers, Kobe led the Lakers with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 block, as the Lakers came back from a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to advance to the NBA Finals. He punctuated the victory with the famous alley-oop to Shaquille O’Neal.

Bryant also came up huge in those Finals, particularly in Game 4 where he scored 22 points in the second half and led the Lakers to a huge 120-118 road win in overtime after Shaquille O’Neal fouled out. The Lakers would go on to win the series in 6 games, winning their first NBA Championship since 1988.

The 2000-01 season saw more growth from Bryant as he raised his scoring to 28.5 points per game. He dropped his first 50 point game on December 6, 2000 and Kobe was named All-NBA Second Team again. The Lakers would go on arguably the most dominant playoff run ever, going 15-1 in route to their second straight NBA Championship.

In 2002 Bryant garnered his first All-NBA First Team selection as well as his first All-Star Game MVP award. Bryant’s all-around play continued and he set a new career-high with 56 points on January 12 against the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite their toughest playoff series to date, in the Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers would push through, beating the Kings in a Game 7 on the road before sweeping the New Jersey Nets for their third straight Championship.

The 2003 and 2004 seasons saw Kobe’s individual play grow to even greater heights, but the Lakers team success faltered as friction between himself and Shaq grew. Kobe averaged 30 points per game for the first time in ’03, leading the Lakers, and finishing third in NBA MVP voting. He also went on a streak of nine straight 40-point games in February of that year but L.A. fell to the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the second round.

The team added future Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Kobe Bryant the following year, but the issues between Kobe and Shaq grew even greater. The Lakers returned to the Finals but were dominated by the Detroit Pistons in five games, as Kobe struggled mightily against the stout Pistons defense.

As a free agent that summer Bryant strongly considered signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, but would ultimately re-sign with the Lakers on a seven-yea max contract just one day after the team dealt away Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat. Head coach Phil Jackson also left that off-season with the Lakers choosing not to renew his contract.

The 2005 season marked the first time in Kobe’s career that his team failed to make the playoffs. He was still named All-NBA Third Team, but failed to make the All-Defensive Team as the Lakers finished just 34-48.

Phil Jackson would return as the team’s head coach in 2006 as Kobe would have best individual season, staking his claim as the best player in the league. Bryant averaged 35.4 points, becoming just the fourth player in history to reach that mark and the first since Michael Jordan in 1987. He famously scored 62 points in 3 quarters against the Dallas Mavericks on December 20, 2005, singlehandedly outscoring Dallas 62-61 during that stretch before sitting out the final period.

Just over a month later Bryant would score 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in a 122-104 victory, the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. This was also a Lakers franchise record, breaking Elgin Baylor’s 71-point night in 1960. Kobe would set Lakers single-season franchise records for total points (2,832) and 40-point games (27). He was also named to his first of eight straight All-NBA First Teams and six straight All-Defensive First Teams.

Kobe would finish fourth in NBA MVP voting this season, but had the second most first-place votes behind only eventual winner Steve Nash. He also led the Lakers back to the playoffs where they pushed the heavily favored Phoenix Suns to seven games before falling in the first round.

Then in 2007, Bryant changed his number to 24 before a season in which he again lead the NBA in scoring. This included a streak of four straight 50-point games, two of which were 60-point contests and ten 50-point outings in the season, but the Lakers again fell to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs.

The following offseason, Bryant publicly demanded a trade, but ultimately backed off his demand. Boosted by an in-season trade for All-Star big man Pau Gasol, Kobe led the Lakers to a 57-25 record, landing him his first and only NBA MVP award after averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. The Lakers would march through the Western Conference playoffs setting up an NBA Finals meeting with the Boston Celtics which they lost in 6 games.

That summer Kobe starred on the USA Men’s National Team. In the Gold Medal game against Spain, Bryant scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help USA pull away for a 118-107 victory, the country’s first gold medal since 2000.

Motivated by their failures the previous season the Lakers went on a tear in 2009, finishing 65-17. Kobe finished second in MVP voting to LeBron James, but the Lakers again blew through the Western Conference for their second straight NBA Finals appearance. This time facing the Orlando Magic the Lakers defeated them 4-1 with Kobe winning his fourth NBA Championship and first NBA Finals MVP after averaging 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 5.6 rebounds.

Despite dealing with numerous injuries throughout the regular season, Kobe missed just nine games as the Lakers again had the best record in the West at 57-25. On February 1, 2010 Kobe surpassed Jerry West to become the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer. Kobe would sign a three-year, $87 million extension during the season as well.

The Lakers had struggles in the playoffs with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns, but ultimately advanced to their third straight NBA Finals where they would have a rematch with the Boston Celtics. The teams would engage in a back-and-forth seven game series with the Lakers ultimately prevailing. Though Bryant struggled mightily against the Celtics defense, he still finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the final game, winning his fifth championship, and second straight NBA Finals MVP.

Bryant would continue to push for his sixth championship in the following years. Kobe won his fourth All-Star Game MVP and climbed up to sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in 2011, but the Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks in the second round. This also marked Bryant’s final appearance on the All-NBA First Team. Following the season Phil Jackson would leave as Lakers head coach.

In 2012 Bryant struggled with minor injuries, missing 8 games, but remaining among the NBA’s elite players. He had his sixth career streak of at least four 40-point games and became the All-Star Game’s all-time leading scorer, but the Lakers again fell in the second round of the playoffs, this time in six games to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Bryant would play for the Men’s National Team for the final time this summer. Though no longer the best player on the team, Bryant took on the role as the team’s top perimeter defender and again helped lead USA to a Gold Medal.

The Lakers would acquire All-Stars Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in the offseason in an attempt to get Bryant one last championship, but the team never gelled as expected with Mike D’Antoni took over as head coach in the middle of the season. Nash missed 32 games due to injury while Kobe and Howard struggled to get along as the Lakers underachieved.

In an attempt to push the Lakers to the playoffs, Bryant took on a major load, scoring at least 30 points in six of 10 games. Unfortunately in the last of those contests, Bryant crumbled to the floor during a drive, rupturing his achilles tendon. Following a timeout, Bryant would slowly limp on the court and make two free throws before leaving the floor to a rousing ovation. Bryant was named to his final All-NBA First Team in 2013.

Due to the achilles tear Bryant missed the first 19 games of the 2013-14 season. He signed one last contract extension, a two-year $48.5 million deal before returning to the floor. He scored just nine points in his return on December 8, 2013, a 12-point loss to the Toronto Raptors. However, in just his sixth game back, Kobe suffered a lateral tibial fracture in his left knee, ultimately being ruled out for the remainder of the season.

2015 did not go much better for Bryant as he played in only 35 games. On December 14, 2014 Kobe surpassed Michael Jordan for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a free throw in a 100-94 win over the Timberwolves. Kobe suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder in a January game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Once again showing his toughness, Bryant would return to the game, playing almost exclusively left-handed before being pulled out and eventually undergoing season-ending surgery.

On November 29, 2015, Bryant announced that the current season would be his last, penning a poem in The Players Tribune entitled ‘Dear Basketball.’ Though Bryant requested that no road teams have any on-court ceremonies for him, teams would honor Bryant with video packages and opposing fans showered him with raucous standing ovations. Bryant played in his final All-Star Game, finishing with 10 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds.

In the final game of his career on April 13, 2015, Bryant would put forth an incredible 60-point performance in a 101-96 win over the Utah Jazz. Bryant scored 23 points in the fourth quarter of the game and became the oldest player in NBA history to score 60 points in a game.

After a 20-year career spent entirely with the Lakers, Kobe Bryant retired as the franchise career leader in points, games, minutes, and steals as well as total field goals, three-pointers, and free throws made.

On December 18, 2017 the Los Angeles Lakers retired both Kobe Bryant’s no. 8 and 24 jerseys in a ceremony at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and 7 others were tragically killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. He and his daughter were buried in a private memorial on February 7 and a public memorial was held at Staples Center on February 24.

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Kobe Bryant

• Small Forward
• Birthdate 8/23/1978
• Draft Info 1996: Rd 1, Pk 13 (CHA)
• Birthplace Philadelphia, PA

Career History

Career highlights, latest videos, kobe didn't flinch at fake pass from barnes, knicks lose second straight heartbreaker, lakers' gabe vincent (knee) returns after 3-month absence, thunder clinch first playoff spot since 2020, beat knicks on gilgeous-alexander's jumper, 2024 nba playoffs tracker: teams with postseason spots, sga propels thunder past knicks in frantic ending, curry scores 33 points, warriors overcome wembanyama, spurs for 4th straight win.

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Kobe Bryant obituary

Basketball superstar who achieved global fame with two Olympic gold medals and five NBA titles during 20 years at the LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant, who has died aged 41 in a helicopter crash , was a basketball phenomenon – a transcendent, if enigmatic, superstar whose rare talent bridged the gap between Michael Jordan and LeBron James in America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and in the global sport basketball has become. Bryant had retired only three years before his death, after a 20-year career in the NBA, all of it with the league’s most glamorous team, the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he signed his first contract when he was only 17.

Five NBA championships and one Most Valuable Player (MVP) award later, he retired with the third-highest total of points in league history, 33,643, the youngest player to cross that 30,000 barrier ; his total was overtaken by James on the day before Bryant died.

Bryant grew up on basketball. His father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, played at La Salle University in Philadelphia, and then for the first half of an eight-year NBA career for the Philadelphia 76ers. His mother, Pamela, was the sister of Chubby Cox, another local star who played collegiately at Villanova University in Philadelphia. After the NBA Joe played another eight years in Europe, seven of them in Italy, and though Kobe was born in Philadelphia, he spent much of his childhood in Italy, adopting Milan as his favourite football team. His name came from the Japanese steak his parents saw on a menu; his middle name, Bean, came from his father.

Kobe returned home to play basketball at Lower Merion high school in suburban Philadelphia. By his third year he was the target of college recruiters and was scrimmaging – taking part in practice games – against the 76ers’ players. Although he could have had his pick of universities, after a senior year when he led Lower Merion to a state championship , averaging 31 points per game, he decided to forgo college and enter the NBA draft.

It was a gamble; Kevin Garnett had made the move successfully the year before, but he was the first high-schooler drafted in 20 years, and was a big man, as the others had been. At 6ft 6in Bryant was very much a shooting guard, though tall for that position. Whether he was physically mature enough to take the demands of an 82-game season against grown men was a more pressing consideration than whether he was emotionally mature enough to handle it.

In the end, the North Carolina side Charlotte Hornets took him as part of a pre-arranged deal by which they traded him to the Lakers for the centre Vlade Divac. As he was not yet 18, Bryant’s parents signed his contract.

He joined the Lakers at a time when they had also acquired the league’s top star, the 7ft 1in centre Shaquille O’Neal. Bryant did not move into the starting lineup until his third season, but for the 1999-2000 campaign the Lakers general manager, Jerry West, hired Phil Jackson, who had coached Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to massive success, and he assembled a team of canny veteran players based around Bryant and O’Neal, who shared the scoring limelight. The result was three consecutive titles – in 2000, 2001 and 2002 – and superstar status for both Bryant and O’Neal. The two had disparate personalities: “when you ask Shaq to do something he says no, sulks, and does it,” said Jackson. “Kobe says OK, then does what he wants.”

In 2001, aged 22, Bryant married 18-year-old Vanessa Laine, whom he had met when she was dancing in a music video. Two years later he was accused of sexual assault by a woman who worked at the resort where he stayed before having post-season knee surgery. In the end his accuser declined to press charges and Bryant settled a civil lawsuit out of court.

After a 2004 season that saw the Lakers add two more stars, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, but fall in the finals to Detroit Pistons, Jackson was let go and O’Neal traded away. The Lakers were now firmly Kobe’s team, but after one disastrous year in which coach Rudy Tomjanovich quit in mid-season, Jackson returned. The Lakers improved slowly, though in 2006 Kobe scored 81 points in a game against Toronto Raptors, the most anyone had scored since Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 in 1962. They lost to arch rivals Boston Celtics in the 2008 final, after a season in which Kobe won the league’s MVP trophy. The next two years saw Kobe’s fourth and fifth NBA titles; in 2010 the Lakers defeated Boston in the final game of a seven game series.

Outside the US, Bryant’s profile was further lifted by his performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics; he was at his peak and turned in a spectacular showing against the hosts, China, plus a brilliant fourth-quarter burst that led the USA to the gold medal over Spain in the final, cementing his status as an international star. By the time of the London games in 2012, however, it was James who sparked another American gold medal win in the final minutes, also against Spain.

The contrast between Bryant and James was telling: James went on to auction his services between teams, famously going to Miami after organising his own “dream team” there, while Bryant stayed put in Los Angeles to build his Laker legacy, though after 2010 he would win no more titles. He was remarkably durable, playing through injuries until a ruptured achilles sidelined him in 2013.

The knock-on effects of that condition slowed him down for his final three seasons and eventually he announced, with a poem called Dear Basketball , that the 2015-16 season would be his last. That swansong was his 20th with the Lakers, breaking John Stockton’s record of 19 years with one team (Utah Jazz). Bryant was voted on to the All-NBA Team of the best players for each season no fewer than 11 times, and played in 18 All-Star games.

After his playing days he looked after his substantial business interests and led many charitable activities, including a fund for young people in China.

He wrote and narrated an adaptation of Dear Basketball for a short animated film which won an Academy Award in 2018. And he returned frequently to Lakers’ games, recently with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, a promising young player herself. He was flying with Gianna and others to a youth game, to be played at his own sports centre, when the helicopter in which they were flying crashed in the hills near Calabasas in California, killing everyone on board. Former president Barack Obama expressed a nation’s shock, noting that Bryant “was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act”.

He is survived by Vanessa, by their daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri and by his parents.

• Kobe Bryant

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Kobe Bryant

• Born August 23 , 1978 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
• Died January 26 , 2020 · Calabasas, California, USA (helicopter crash)
• Birth name Kobe Bean Bryant
• The Black Mamba
• Height 6′ 6″ (1.98 m)
• Kobe Bean Bryant was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, 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. Bryant also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. He was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy, Bryant was recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Lower Merion. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he 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. 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. Despite a feud with teammate Shaquille O'Neal, the pair led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexual assault;with the alleged victim being a 19 year old hotel employee. Criminal charges were later dropped after the accuser failed to testify, and a lawsuit was settled out of court, with Bryant issuing a public apology and admitting to a sexual encounter while maintaining the interaction was consensual. The accusation briefly tarnished Bryant's reputation, resulting in the loss of several of his endorsement contracts. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. On January 22, 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points; the second most points scored in a single NBA game, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. Bryant led the team to consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, both times being named NBA Finals MVP. He continued to be among the top players in the league through the 2012-13 season, when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. His next two seasons were cut short by injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing physical decline, Bryant retired after the 2015-16 season. In 2017, the Lakers retired both his #8 and #24 jerseys, making him the only player in NBA history to have multiple jerseys retired by the same franchise. The all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, and he has the most consecutive appearances as a starter. Bryant's four NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. He gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba" in the mid-2000s, and the epithet became widely adopted by the general public. He won gold medals on the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the film Dear Basketball (2017). Bryant died, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, in 2020. A number of tributes and memorials were subsequently issued, including renaming the All-Star MVP Award in his honor. He was. 5× NBA champion (2000-2002, 2009, 2010); 2× NBA Finals MVP (2009, 2010); NBA Most Valuable Player (2008); 18× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000-2016); 4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011); 11× All-NBA First Team (2002-2004, 2006-2013); 2× All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2001); 2× All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2005); 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006-2011); 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2001, 2002, 2012) - IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
• Kobe Bryant is an American professional basketball player. Bryant played his entire 20-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers . He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships. Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. Kobe Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. His four All-Star MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
• Spouse Vanessa Bryant (April 18, 2001 - January 26, 2020) (his death, 4 children)
• Children Capri Bryant Bianka Bella Bryant Gianna Bryant Natalia Bryant Bianka Bryant
• Parents Joe Bryant Pam Bryant
• Relatives Sharia (Sibling) Shaya (Sibling)
• Only basketball player to ever win an Oscar.
• Made his debut at 18 years, 2 months and 11 days old, the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game (3 November 1996)
• Scored 1,080 on his SATs
• Met his wife, Vanessa Bryant , during a visit to the set of one of Snoop Dogg 's video, where she was working as a model.
• On 22 January 2006, Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest single-game scoring output by a player in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain 's legendary 100 points on 2 March 1962. Bryant achieved his feat by converting 28 of 46 field goals (including 7 of 13 3-pointers), and making 18 of 20 free throws.
• 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.
• [announcing his plans to retire from the NBA after twenty seasons] My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it's time to say goodbye.
• [the last words in his farewell speech after his final game] what can I say...Mamba out
• [on if he would consider guarding the upstart Jeremy Lin] Jesus Christ. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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The 10 Best Books on Kobe Bryant

Essential books on kobe bryant.

There are countless books on Kobe Bryant, and it comes with good reason, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, won five NBA championships, and spent his entire 20-year career with the storied Los Angeles Lakers.

“The mindset isn’t about seeking a result – it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life. I do think that it’s important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality,” he remarked.

In order to get to the bottom of what inspired one of history’s most consequential athletes to the height of his craft, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best books on Kobe Bryant.

The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant

In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game to take readers on an unprecedented journey to the core of the legendary “Mamba mentality.” Citing an obligation and an opportunity to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it “the right way,” The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative basketball players ever.

In his own words, Bryant reveals his famously detailed approach and the steps he took to prepare mentally and physically to not just succeed at the game, but to excel. Readers will learn how Bryant studied an opponent, how he channeled his passion for the game, how he played through injuries. They’ll also get fascinating granular detail as he breaks down specific plays and match-ups from throughout his career.

The Rise by Mike Sielski

In The Rise , readers will travel from the neighborhood streets of Southwest Philadelphia – where Kobe’s father, Joe, became a local basketball standout – to the Bryant family’s isolation in Italy, where Kobe spent his formative years, to the leafy suburbs of Lower Merion, where Kobe’s legend was born. The story will trace his career and life at Lower Merion – he led the Aces to the 1995-96 Pennsylvania state championship, a dramatic underdog run for a team with just one star player – and the run-up to the 1996 NBA draft, where Kobe’s dream of playing pro basketball culminated in his acquisition by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In researching and writing  this hallmark among books on Kobe Bryant , Mike Sielski had a terrific advantage over other writers who have attempted to chronicle the legend’s life: access to a series of never-before-released interviews with him during his senior season and early days in the NBA. For a quarter century, these tapes and transcripts preserved Kobe’s thoughts, dreams, and goals from his teenage years, and they contained insights into and told stories about him that have never been revealed before.

This is more than a basketball book. This is an exploration of the identity and making of an icon and the effect of his development on those around him – the essence of the man before he truly became a man.

Showboat by Roland Lazenby

Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball’s absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.

Even within the flashiest franchise in all of sports – the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played his entire career – Bryant always took center stage, and his final game captivated the basketball world, indeed the country. Roland Lazenby delves deep to look behind this public image, using classic basketball reporting and dozens of new interviews to reveal the whole picture, from Bryant’s childhood through his playing years.

Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman

In the history of modern sport, there have never been two high-level teammates who loathed each other the way Shaquille O’Neal loathed Kobe Bryant, and Kobe Bryant loathed Shaquille O’Neal. From public sniping and sparring, to physical altercations and the repeated threats of trade, it was warfare. And yet, despite eight years of infighting and hostility, by turns mediated and encouraged by coach Phil Jackson, the Shaq-Kobe duo resulted in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. Together, the two led the Lakers to three straight championships and returned glory and excitement to Los Angeles. In the tradition of Jeff Pearlman’s other bestsellers,   Three-Ring Circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of sports’ most fraught yet successful pairing.

The Gold Standard by Mike Krzyzewski

In his previous bestselling books, Coach K has guided readers to success the way he has guided his teams at Duke University – with the power of his inspirational words and phenomenal leadership skills.

But that was with college kids. Now, Coach K has stepped up to take on an entirely new challenge: volunteering to coach the US Olympic Basketball team.

Comprised of some of the biggest NBA stars, Coach K had to work with huge egos and personal rivalries in order to create an American team that could win against the best competition in the world and restore Team USA to the gold standard of basketball.

This is more than a celebratory book – it’s Coach K’s first-hand account of how he dealt with such stars as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and all the rest to buy into his “total team” play.

The Last Season by Phil Jackson

For the countless basketball fans who were spellbound by the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2003–2004 high-wire act, this book is a rare and phenomenal treat. In  The Last Season , Lakers coach Phil Jackson draws on his trademark honesty and insight to tell the whole story of the season that proved to be the final ride of a truly great dynasty. From the signing of future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton to the Kobe Bryant rape case/media circus, this is a riveting tale of clashing egos, public feuds, contract disputes, and team meltdowns that only a coach, and a writer, of Jackson’s candor, experience, and ability could tell. Full of tremendous human drama and offering lessons on coaching and on life, this is a book that no sports fan can possibly pass up.

The Soul of Basketball by Ian Thomsen

The Soul of Basketball tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision , that infamous televised moment when uber-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers – thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan – to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat.

To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA, and basketball itself, the mission didn’t work out as planned. Veteran NBA writer Ian Thomsen portrays the NBA as a self-correcting society in which young LeBron is forced to absorb hard truths inflicted by his rivals Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers, and Dirk Nowitzki, in addition to lessons set forth by Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, David Stern, Joey Crawford and many more.

This is about the making of a champion. Brimming with inside access,  The Soul of Basketball tells the inspiring story of LeBron’s loneliest year, insecure and uncertain, when his ultimate foe was an unlikely immigrant who renewed the American game’s ideals. From Miami to Boston, Los Angeles to Dallas, Germany to the NBA’s Manhattan headquarters, the biggest names in basketball are driven by something more valuable than money and fame  – a quest that will pave the way for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and future generations to thrive.

Relentless by Tim S. Grover

Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else is giving up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. He details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life.

Relentless   shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone; how to control and adapt to any situation; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients – “don’t think” – and shows you that anything is possible.

One of the few books Kobe Bryant has ever written an editorial review for, Bryant tells readers, “Tim Grover is the master of mental toughness. This book is the blueprint for discovering what you are capable of achieving, getting results you never imagined, reaching the highest level of success – and then going even higher.”

Remembering Kobe Bryant by Sean Deveney

When he entered the NBA in 1996 as a high-school star from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant faced enormous expectations. No one can deny that he rose to the challenge. Today Bryant’s status as a future Hall of Fame player is assured. During his stellar career, Bryant won five NBA championships; was a seventeen-time All-Star, NBA MVP, and two-time NBA Finals MVP. He led the league in scoring in 2006 and 2007.

Now for the first time, hear stories from opponents, teammates, and players about what it was like to go against The Black Mamba in this absolute gem among books on Kobe Bryant.

Legacy and the Queen by Annie Matthew; Created by Kobe Bryant

GAME. SET. MAGIC.

Game – Tennis means life and death for the residents of the magical kingdom of Nova, and for twelve-year-old Legacy, it’s the only thing getting her through the long days taking care of the other kids at the orphanage. That’s all about to change when she hears about Silla’s tournament.

Set – Silla, the ruler of Nova, hosts an annual tournament for the less fortunate of her citizens to come and prove themselves and win entrance to the Academy, where they can train to compete at nationals. The prize is Silla’s favor and enough cash to keep open the orphanage, and Legacy has her heart set on both.

Magic – What Legacy has yet to know is that the other players have something besides better skills and more money than she does. In Nova, tennis can unlock magic. Magic that Silla used to save the kingdom long ago and magic that her competitors have been training in for months already.

Now, with the world turned against her and the orphanage at stake, Legacy has to learn to use her passion for the game to rise above those around her and shine.

If you enjoyed this guide to essential books on Kobe Bryant, check out our list of The 10 Best Books on Michael Jordan !

An NBA ring, an auction and a vast fortune: The Bryants’ war drags on four years after Kobe’s death

Pamela and joe bryant, estranged from their son since he married vanessa bryant, have put up for sale the championship ring that the basketball player won and gave them in 2000 for a mere $30,000. the athlete, who died in 2020, stopped them from selling his memorabilia 11 years ago.

The Lakers’ 2000 season was nothing short of brilliant. A 21-year-old Kobe Bryant rose as the unquestioned star while Shaquille O’Neal racked up non-stop points, establishing the team as the best of the season and earning the famous NBA championship ring. The boyish Bryant gave the gold and diamond piece of jewelry to his proud father, Joe Bryant, who had also been an NBA player but never matched his son’s accomplishments. Today that image seems rather unreal, erased by time and its vicissitudes. A quarter of a century later, the world has changed. Kobe got married, had four daughters. The Bryants drifted apart. Never again were they that close-knit family. Kobe died four years ago, when he was only 41. And now, to many people’s surprise, it has come to light that Joe and Pam, the athlete’s parents, are selling the ring. They have put it up for auction for just $30,000, although following a dozen bids it almost reached $100,000. The most surprising, or serious, or peculiar part of the story is that they had tried to cash in on Kobe’s belongings before, but his son put a stop to it.

When Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles — along with his second daughter, 13-year-old Gianna — he left behind a social, cultural and sporting legacy, but also an economic one. In addition to being a superb athlete, he was an intuitive investor who amassed a fortune estimated at around $600 million, according to Forbes . However, it would seem that neither his parents, nor his sisters, have seen a single dollar of this. They are not deprived, but have no access to the player’s earnings. His legacy is administered by his widow, Vanessa, who manages everything for his three daughters: Natalia, Bianka and Capri. And, as far is known, she has had no relationship with the Bryants for years. Just as Kobe did not either.

During his childhood, the boy grew up in the shadow of his father, a basketball professional turned coach who was frustrated by his mediocre career (by the 1970s and 1980s, when he played, he was too tall, too bulky, and did not fit into the defensive positions he was assigned at the time). Because of his job, Joe Bryant lived with his family in Italy and Philadelphia. But as soon as they sensed that the boy had a real chance of following his father’s path and even surpassing it , they moved to Los Angeles, where they could envision the possibilities of a career in sports and also in business. It was the mid-1990s, Kobe was just a teenager and his parents were guiding him. In a 1996 interview with Jay Leno , with Joe and Pam sitting in the audience, the host joked about the 198-centimeter 17-year-old in a suit and tie: “You don’t have to cut the lawn ever again.” Kobe responded: “The good thing is that now I can give my parents an allowance.”

One of Kobe’s championship rings is currently up for auction 😯 (Via @TheSiteSupply ) pic.twitter.com/G11Zs14Tr7 — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 17, 2024

It was only a half-hearted joke. For years he paid for their houses, luxury cars, expenses and also whims. Bryant was always extremely generous to those he loved. When he met Vanessa Urbieta Cornejo (or Vanessa Laine, since she had changed her last name to that of her mother’s new husband after her father fled to Mexico and never came back), he filled the high school where the girl was studying with huge bouquets of flowers, and she attracted so much attention when he went to pick her up in his Mercedes that she had to finish her senior year at home. It was his romance with Vanessa that distanced Kobe from his parents. His parents were not thrilled with the pair’s relationship or its swiftness: they met while shooting a music video — back when Bryant wanted to be a rapper — in 1999, when she was 17 and he was 20, and on her 18th birthday in May 2000, they announced their engagement. In April 2001, the two married. The Bryants were also not impressed by the fact that their son did not choose an African-American girl, but rather a Latina. Only 12 guests attended the wedding and Joe and Pam Bryant were not among them.

From then on, there were disagreements, also in public. Vanessa Bryant began to take the reins of their home, their finances and their professional and personal decisions together with her husband. Meanwhile, the player’s parents began to lose power. In a 2015 documentary, the athlete acknowledged that it was “very different to have somebody that I was so close to, because I had been so used to growing up in isolation,” and that in his wife he had found someone compatible, who saw the world in the same way he did.

The problems only got worse. By 2002, Bryant was such a superstar that his number was retired in tribute. In attendance at the event were his parents, though seated in a different area from Vanessa. In 2003, at an important playoff game, his mother asked him to leave a ticket at the box office in his father’s name, which he did, but Joe never showed up. “I knew he wouldn’t come down and see me. He never does,” he told the Los Angeles Times at the time, going so far as to say that such distancing was “natural”: “I’m sure it’s tough on any parent when their child grows up and starts stepping into their own.” But at that time Joe had not yet visited Kobe’s new home, nor had he met his first-born daughter, Natalia, born in January of that year.

“It’s not about basketball,” said the shooting guard, reflecting on his failed relationship with his father. “It’s about having someone to go to a ballgame with. It’s about having someone to hang out with. That’s what I miss.” In that same talk, the father claimed that when his son made the decision to be with Vanessa, his wife and he decided “that it was time to back off, that’s all.” “It’s his life. We’ve got nothing to do with it. We’ve done our job.” “Twenty years from now, when his own child grows up, he’ll understand what I’m doing,” Joe said. A couple of years later, when Joe started coaching the Los Angeles Sparks, the city’s women’s basketball team, a reconciliation ensued. In 2010, Bryant and Gasol’s Lakers won the championship and Joe and Pam were again in the stands (although it was rumored at the time that it was not Kobe who had invited them, but a fan).

However, it all came back to haunt them. The most painful blow came in 2013. The player’s parents put several of their son’s personal belongings up for auction, including two school uniforms and that very 2000 ring they are trying to sell now, a quarter of a century later. Bryant was so enraged that he even took to Twitter (now X) to vent his anger. “When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand?” he tweeted, along with the hashtags #hurtbeyondmeasure, #gavemenowarning and #love?.

For that reason, he decided to sue Goldin, the auction house, but the auction house sued back, claiming that Pam was the owner of the objects and that she had already been given $450,000 for them to pay for a house that she and Joe were going to buy in Las Vegas. In the end, the parties reached an agreement and sold only six items to reach the half million dollars, which was slightly more than Goldin had anticipated. Kobe’s parents released a statement expressing their “regret” over their actions: “We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we may have caused our son and appreciate the financial support that he has provided over the years.” But the bond had been broken for good.

When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand? #hurtbeyondmeasure #gavemenowarning #love ? — Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 4, 2013

Joe and Pamela were not present at Kobe’s retirement in April 2016. By that time they had not spoken to each other for three years. In an interview with the sports outlet ESPN that year, the hurting player acknowledged that everything was very difficult between them: “Our relationship is shit,” he said. “I say [to them], ‘I’m going to buy you a very nice home, and the response is ‘That’s not good enough?’” he said. “Then you’re selling my shit?”

He also spoke about his sisters, Sharia and Shaya. “They’re very smart, college-educated. I’m really proud of them. They were able to get their own jobs, get their own lives, take care of themselves. Now they have a better sense of self, of who they are as people, instead of being resentful because they were relying on me,” Bryant explained, once again suggesting that money had been a turning point in their family relationships. “It was tough for me to do. But it’s something you have to do, something you have to be very strong about,” he said with pain in his voice.

Shortly before his death, two other developments increased the distance in the family. In 2018, his parents would not attend to see him win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball . He was with Vanessa, now a world away from the teenager he took to Disneyland on their first date, and now one of the most powerful women in Los Angeles. And in 2019 the Bryants were back at it again: Pam put that 2000 championship ring, one that Kobe commissioned for her at the time, up for auction. It went on sale for $20,000 (its price, for the gold and gemstones, would have been between $50,000 and $150,000) and she sold it for $206,000.

Now history is repeating itself once again. Bryant’s ring that he gave to his father has gone on sale at Goldin for only $33,000. The auction site explains that it weighs 60 grams, is made in 14 karat gold, with 40 diamonds and in Kobe’s size, with several engraved words, such as “Lakers,” “Bryant” and the numbers “8″ and “2000.” “Obtained directly from the Bryant family, this ring is a true one-of-a-kind, and we can confirm that it is the only championship ring ever given by Kobe to his father. This ring comes with a LOA from Pam Bryant,” claims the auction house website . Its final price is expected to exceed the 2000 championship ring sold in 2019.

The reasons for the sale remain unknown: Is it because the Bryants need money? Is it public revenge against Vanessa? A way to remain in the limelight? Fans of the late player have showered the family with criticism. Some are even encouraging Vanessa to participate in the auction, to take the jewel and put it in safekeeping. The bidding closes on March 30. That is when the end of this penultimate chapter of the Bryant war will draw to a close.

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Kobe Bryant explained why he studied Taylor Swifts greatness: "I think it's important to listen to people who do great things"

W hen it comes to reaching the peak of athletic success, few possess the innate talent and unwavering determination needed to excel on a global scale. Kobe Bryant, the late Los Angeles Lakers legend, not only displayed remarkable skill on the basketball court but also showed an unmatched dedication to growth and self-improvement.

Beyond his God-given abilities, Bryant positioned himself as a genuine student of the game, carefully learning about his role models and finding motivation from a wide range of exceptional figures across different domains, from business to the music industry.

Kobe studying other great people

One interesting, to say the least, example of Bryant's unorthodox approach to greatness was his interest in the world of entertainment, particularly the rise of music sensation Taylor Swift. Despite his status as a basketball icon, Bean’s curiosity extended beyond the bounds of the court, leading him to delve into Taylor’s remarkable and swift (pun intended) journey to stardom.

“I think it's important to listen to people who do great things. You know Taylor has been on top of the game for a very, very long time, so how and why?” Kobe elaborated in an interview on The Jordan Harbinger Show in 2019.

“How does she write? How does she get into that space in order to create things over and over and over again? It's a lot of pressure for her to follow up a number one album with a better, then follow up with a better. I don't care if you like her music or you don't like her music. Look at what she is doing, and that is frightening stuff and it's unbelievable to be able to pull that off over and over and over. You can't have that level of consistent success and not be a killer; it's impossible," he added.

Similar paths, similar success

Bryant found Swift's impact on the music industry fascinating, admiring her early success. As an avid fan, he recognized her drive for excellence, akin to his own pursuit of greatness.

Comparing their journeys reveals some similarities: both faced pressure to succeed early on, transitioning from rising stars to global icons. Taylor's evolution from country sensation to worldwide star mirrors Kobe's ascent from rookie to basketball legend. 

Their shared dedication and talent led to numerous achievements, inspiring others across diverse fields and in their respective domains; both artists remain among the very best, boasting a shelf full of awards as proof of their legacy.

Related: When a Comedy Central cartoon "foreshadowed" Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash