Name: Kobe Bryant
Former Team: Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2016)
Position: Guard
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Born: August 23, 1978
Died: January 26, 2020
Height: 6feet, 6inches, 1.98m
Weight: 212lbs, 96kg
– Bryant was the son of Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, who played eight seasons in the NBA
– Bryant spent eight years of his childhood with his family in Italy
– Bryant married Vanessa Laine, April 18, 2001. Daughter Natalia was born in January, 2003; daughter Gianna was born May, 2006; daughter Bianka was born December, 2016 and daughter Capri was born June, 2019
Awards/career highlights
– Bryant won five NBA championships — 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010
– Named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in leading Lakers to titles in 2009 and 2010
– Earned Olympic gold medals with USA at 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics
– Named NBA regular-season MVP in 2007-08 season and a record-tying four-time NBA All-Star Game MVP — 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011
– On January 22, 2006 scored a career-high 81 points in Lakers’ 122-104 victory over Toronto, second-most points in a game in NBA history
– In 2018, his movie “Dear Basketball” won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
– Selected with 13th overall choice by Charlotte Hornets in 1996 NBA draft, becoming the 27th player to join NBA straight from high school.
– Acquired by Lakers shortly after draft
– Named an NBA All-Star 18 times – 1998 and 2000-2016
– Two-time NBA scoring champion – 2006 and 2007
– 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner
– Had both his jersey numbers, 8 and 24, retired by the Lakers, an unprecedented move
– Scored 33,643 points, grabbed 7,047 rebounds and passed off 6,306 assists over 1,346 career NBA games
– Scored a season-high 60 points in his last NBA game on April 13, 2016 in a 101-96 Lakers’ victory over Utah, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to score 60 points at 37 years and 234 days
Some of the significant injuries that affected Bryant during his career:
– Broken metacarpal bone in right hand, 1999-00 season
– Right index finger laceration, sprained right shoulder, 2003-04
– Severely sprained right ankle, 2004-05
– Index finger avulsion fracture, right knee swelling, sprained left ankle, 2009-10
– Torn left Achilles tendon requiring surgery, 2012-13
– Broken bone in left knee, 2013-14
– Torn right shoulder rotator cuff, 2015