Kobe Bryant

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Kobe Bryant
Position Guard
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Team Los Angeles Lakers
Nationality Flag of United States United States
Born August 23, 1978
Philadelphia, PA
High school Lower Merion,
Lower Merion, PA
Draft 13th overall, 1996
Charlotte Hornets
Pro career 1996 – present
Awards 3-time NBA Champion
8-time All-Star
8-time All-NBA Selection
6-time All-Defensive Selection
2002 NBA All-Star Game MVP
1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion
1996 Naismith Prep Player of the Year

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and current Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. He rose to national prominence as he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. Bryant was ranked #59 on SLAM magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of All Time in 2003.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Kobe Bryant is the youngest child and only son of Joe and Pam Bryant. His parents named him after famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu.[1]

At the age of six, Kobe, his parents and two older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, moved to Italy, where his father began playing professional basketball. He became accustomed to the lifestyle and became fluent in Italian. At an early age, he learned to play soccer and his favorite team was AC Milan. At the age of 7, Kobe got his first leather basketball. It became his constant companion. He even slept with it. Bryant once said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player.

In 1991, the Bryants moved back to the United States. A spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion, brought Bryant national recognition. While his SAT score of 1080[2] would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges, the 17-year-old Bryant made the controversial decision to go directly to the NBA.

[edit] Early NBA career

[edit] 1996 Draft

Even before he was chosen as the 13th draft pick overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996, the 17-year-old Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who immediately foresaw the potential in Bryant's basketball talent during pre-draft workouts. West stated that Bryant's workout was one of the best he had ever witnessed. West continued his quest to return the Lakers to championship status and startled spectators by offering and completing the trade for starting center Vlade Divac to the Hornets for Bryant.

[edit] Growing pains

During his first season with the Lakers, he mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Bryant played limited minutes initially but this changed as the season continued. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

In Bryant's second season (1997-98), he received more playing time and began showing more of his abilities as a talented young guard. He was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter.

While his statistics were impressive for his age, he was still a young guard who lacked the experience to complement Shaquille O'Neal and significantly help the team contend for a championship.

[edit] Championship years

However, Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. After years of steady improvement, Bryant had become one of the premier shooting guards in the league, a fact that was evidenced by his annual presence in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became perennial championship contenders under Bryant and O'Neal, who formed an outstanding center-guard combination. Their success gave the Lakers three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

[edit] End of a dynasty

In the 2002-03 NBA season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic scoring run, posting 40 or more points per game in nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs up to that point. For the first time in his career Bryant was voted on to both--All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st teams. After finishing 50-32 in the regular season, the Lakers floundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in six games.

In the following 2003-04 NBA season, the Lakers were able to acquire legends Karl Malone and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA Championship. With a starting lineup of four potential Hall of Fame players in Shaquille O'Neal, Malone, Payton, and Bryant, the Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they were eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game, shooting 35.1% from the field, and 4.4 assists per game.

[edit] Conflicts and turmoil

Bryant, following his arrest in 2003
Enlarge
Bryant, following his arrest in 2003

In 2003, Bryant's reputation was tainted by the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case, in which Katelyn Faber, a young woman from Colorado, accused Bryant of sexual assault. With his image badly tarnished, the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's, Nutella, and Ferrero SpA were terminated. Sales figures from NBA merchandisers indicated that sales of replicas of Bryant's jersey fell far off of their previous highs.

Even before being arrested for rape, Bryant was known to publicly feud with his teammates, including Shaquille O'Neal, Samaki Walker and Karl Malone. In 2004, a dispute between Bryant and former teammate Malone became public prior to Malone's expected re-signing with the Lakers. Bryant claimed Malone had made inappropriate comments to Bryant's wife. Malone claimed the comments were in jest and that Bryant was overreacting [1]. In the subsequent months, rather than re-join Bryant and the Lakers, Malone turned his attention to the possibility of joining another team, but ultimately decided to retire.

[edit] Unquestioned leader

When O'Neal was traded, Bryant became the Lakers' unquestioned leader of the team going into the 2004-2005 season. As it turned out, however, his first season without O'Neal would prove to be a very rocky one. With his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year, Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the season.

A particularly damaging salvo came from Phil Jackson in The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul. The book detailed the events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003-04 season and has a number of criticisms of Bryant. In the book Jackson also calls Bryant "uncoachable."

Then, midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion. Without "Rudy T," stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Bryant was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. This year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA by not making the NBA All-Defensive Team and being demoted to All-NBA Third Team.

[edit] 2005-06 season

The 2005-06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the NBA Playoffs. Bryant also resolved his conflict with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The team posted a 45-37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough (3-1 series lead) to come within a game of eliminating the second-seeded Phoenix Suns before finally falling short. Even with Kobe Bryant's remarkable game winning shot in Game 4, the Lakers broke down, falling to the Suns in Game 7. In the following offseason, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

[edit] Scoring

[edit] Accomplishments

In many ways, the team's improvement in 2005-06 was often overshadowed by the individual scoring accomplishments posted by Bryant which resulted in one of his finest statistical season of his career:

  • On December 20, Bryant scored 62 points despite playing only three quarters of play against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter Bryant had, by himself, outscored the entire Mavericks team 62-61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock.
  • On January 22, Bryant scored 81 points in a 122-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, his point total in that game was second in NBA history only to Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100-point game in 1962.
  • Also in January, Bryant became the first player since 1964, and the only player aside from Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games.
  • For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history, and highest for any player other than Chamberlain.
  • By the end of the season, Bryant had also set Lakers single-season franchise records for the most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832), among others.
  • Bryant won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting the highest scoring average (35.4) since Michael Jordan's 37.1 average in 1986-87.
  • Bryant finished in fourth-place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but also received 22 first place votes — second only to winner Steve Nash, and by far the highest number of first-place votes Bryant had ever received in his career.

[edit] Other notable events

  • When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying the end of the feud that had festered between the two players since O'Neal's acrimonious departure from Los Angeles. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two laughed and joked together on several occasions.
  • Bryant's jersey.
    Enlarge
    Bryant's jersey.
    Late in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from #8 to #24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. #24 was Bryant's first high school number, before he switched to #33.[3] After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted #24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was #33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He said the switch to 24 signified the start of the second half of his career. Bryant took number 8 after his favorite Italian league player, Mike D'Antoni. Kobe Bryant grew up watching D'Antoni as a star point guard in the Italian league, where his father, "Jelly Bean" Bryant, also played.[4]

[edit] 2006-07 season

On December 15th, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 53 points to push the Lakers to a 112-101 victory over the Houston Rockets in double overtime. On December 4th, Kobe Bryant sprained his right ankle going for the rebound against the Indiana Pacers.

In addition, though not completely healed from off-season knee surgery, Bryant has been surprisingly efficient, averaging 27.9 points while shooting a career-high 48% from the floor while taking only 19.5 shots a game.

[edit] Player profile

Bryant is a shooting guard who plays small forward on some occasions. As of 2006, he is considered one of the premier players in the NBA, being elected into the All-NBA Teams en bloc from 1999 on and featuring eight NBA All-Star call-ups. Bryant was a vital part of the three most recent Lakers' championships. He is a prolific scorer, averaging 24.0 points per game for his career, and also nets 4.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

[edit] Private life

In November 1999, 21 year old Bryant met 17 year old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video[5] " G'd Up " (In the video Vanessa is in the convertible in a silver bikini). Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released.

The two began dating and were engaged just six months later in May 2000,[6] all while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. Due to the media, she finished high school through independent study.[7] According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Kobe "loved her too much for one". [8].

They married on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point, California. There were only about 12 guests at the wedding. Neither Bryant's parents, his two sisters, longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, nor Bryant's Laker teammates attended. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who wasn't African-American[9]. This disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, during which Kobe Bryant did not have any contact with his parents.

The Bryants' first child, a daughter named Natalia Diamante Bryant, was born on January 19, 2003. The birth of Natalia influenced Bryant to reconcile his differences with his parents. Vanessa Bryant suffered a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in the Spring of 2005. In the Fall of 2005 the Bryants announced that they were expecting their second child. Their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was born on May 1, 2006. Interestingly, Gianna was born 6 minutes ahead of former teammate Shaquille O'Neal's daughter Me'arah Sanaa, who was born in Florida.[10]

[edit] Statistics

SEASON TEAM GP MPG SPG BPG RPG APG PPG Hi 40+ 50+ TD PER MVP
'96-97 LAL 71 15.5 0.69 0.32 1.9 1.3 7.6 24 0 0 0 14.4 N/A
'97-98 LAL 79 26.0 0.94 0.51 3.1 2.5 15.4 33 0 0 0 18.5 N/A
'98-99 LAL 50 37.9 1.44 1.00 5.3 3.8 19.9 38 0 0 0 18.9 N/A
'99-00 LAL 66 38.2 1.61 0.94 6.3 4.9 22.5 40 1 0 0 21.7 12th
'00-01 LAL 68 40.9 1.68 0.63 5.9 5.0 28.5 51 6 1 2 24.4 9th
'01-02 LAL 80 38.3 1.48 0.44 5.5 5.5 25.2 56 1 1 1 23.2 5th
'02-03 LAL 82 41.5 2.21 0.82 6.9 5.9 30.0 55 19 3 5 26.2 3rd
'03-04 LAL 65 37.6 1.72 0.43 5.5 5.1 24.0 45 3 0 1 23.7 5th
'04-05 LAL 66 40.7 1.30 0.80 5.9 6.0 27.6 48 10 0 5 23.3 N/A
'05-06 LAL 80 41.0 1.84 0.38 5.3 4.5 35.4 81 27 6 0 28.0 4th

TD = Triple-doubles

MVP = MVP voting

LAL = Los Angeles Lakers

[edit] Awards and achievements

[edit] Career highlights

  • 3-time NBA Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002
  • 8-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
  • Has started in each of his appearances
  • 8 consecutive appearances. (No All-Star game in 1999 due to league-wide lock-out)
  • NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002
  • NBA Scoring Champion: 2006 (35.4)
  • 8-time All-NBA Selection:
  • First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
  • Second Team: 2000, 2001
  • Third Team: 1999, 2005
  • 6-time All-Defensive Selection:
  • First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006
  • Second Team: 2001, 2002
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, points: 2003 (2,461), 2006 (2,832)
  • 2-time NBA regular-season leader, field goals made: 2003 (868), 2006 (978)
  • NBA regular-season leader, field goals attempted: 2006 (2,173)
  • NBA regular-season leader, free throws made: 2006 (696)
  • NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997
  • NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion: 1997
  • 2nd highest single-game point total in NBA history: 81, set on January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors. (The record is 100 points set by Wilt Chamberlain on March 2, 1962.)
  • 7th highest single-season point total in NBA history: 2,832, 2005-06 (Top 6 held by Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan)
  • 9th highest single-season scoring average in NBA history: 35.4, 2005-06 (Top 8 held by Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan, and Rick Barry)
  • Career 40+ Point Games (Regular Season): 70
  • Career 50+ Point Games (Regular Season): 13
  • T-4th in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain (118), Michael Jordan (31), Elgin Baylor (14), and Rick Barry (13). [12]
  • Career triple-doubles (as of 2006): 14 [13]
  • Career statistics (as of 2006): 23.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.61 bpg, 1.50 spg, .451 FG%, .336 3FG%, .834 FT% [14]
  • Career playoff statistics (as of 2006): 22.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.73 bpg, 1.34 spg, .438 FG%, .329 3FG%, .791 FT% [15]
  • On February 18, 2006, Named one of the Next 10 Greatest Players on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the release of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team by the TNT broadcasting crew.

[edit] NBA milestones

  • Youngest player in NBA history to reach:
  • Youngest player to start an NBA game (18 years, 158 days), making his first start for the Los Angeles Lakers on January 28, 1997.
  • Youngest player to start an NBA All-Star Game (19 years, 175 days), making his debut at the 48th annual All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden on February 8, 1998.
  • Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Defensive Team (1999-2000) [16]
  • Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Rookie Team (1996-1997)[17]
  • Youngest NBA All-Star Slam Dunk champion (18 years, 175 days), after winning the contest at the 1997 NBA All-Star Weekend.
  • Became the first player ever to outscore the opposing team through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock after scoring 62 points in three quarters of play on December 20, 2005 vs. the Dallas Mavericks.

[edit] NBA records

Kobe Bryant holds ten NBA records:

  • Most three-point field goals made, one game: 12 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics; first player to reach this plateau; tied with Donyell Marshall) [18]
  • Most three-point field goals made, one half: 8 (March 28, 2003 vs. Washington Wizards; tied with 5 players). [19]
  • Most consecutive three-point field goals made, one game: 9 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics; first player to reach this plateau; tied with Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon). [20]
  • Most free throws made, one quarter: 14 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks; tied with 5 players). [21] [22]
  • Most free throws attempted, one quarter: 16 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks; tied with 6 players). [23] [24]
  • Most points scored by a rookie in a NBA Rookie All-Star Game: 31 [25]
  • Most All-Star Game three-point field goals made, all-time: 11 (1997–present; tied with Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, and Jason Kidd). [26]
  • Most points scored by a player against a team in consecutive games: 112 (81 on January 22, 2006 and 31 on November 17, 2006 against the Toronto Raptors)
  • Holds shot-clock era records for:
  • Greatest percentage of own team's point total (66.4% of the Lakers' 122 points)
  • Greatest percentage of both teams' combined point total (35.8% of the Lakers' and Raptors' 226 points)
  • (both set on January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors).

[edit] Lakers franchise records

Kobe Bryant holds thirty-one Los Angeles Lakers franchise records:

  • Points
  • Season: 2,832 (2005-06; 7th highest NBA single season scoring output of all-time)
  • Game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors) [27]
  • Half: 55 (2nd half, January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors). [28]
  • Quarter: 30 (twice, most recently on November 30, 2006 in 3rd quarter vs. Utah Jazz) [29]
  • Overtime, playoffs: 12 (May 4, 2006 vs. Phoenix Suns) [30]
  • Scoring average, month: 43.4 (January 2006)
  • Games scoring 50 points or more, season: 6 (2005-06)[31]
  • Games scoring 40 points or more, season: 27 (2005-06) [32]
  • Consecutive games of 40 points or more: 9 (February 6–February 23, 2003) [33]
  • Consecutive games of 20 points or more, season: 62 (December 9, 2005–April 19, 2006)
  • Field goals made
  • Half: 18 (2nd half, January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors). [34]
  • Quarter: 11 (February 2, 1999 vs. Seattle SuperSonics). [35]
  • Field goals attempted
  • Half: 28 (tied with Elgin Baylor; 2nd half, January 22, 2006 vs. Toronto Raptors). [36]
  • Free throws made
  • Game: 23 (twice, most recently on January 31, 2006 vs. New York Knicks). [37]
  • Half: 16 (January 30, 2001 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers) [38]
  • Quarter: 14 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks) [39]
  • Quarter, playoffs: 11 (tied with 3 players; May 8, 1997 vs. Utah Jazz). [40]
  • Consecutive: 62 (January 11–22, 2006). [41]
  • Free throws attempted
  • Quarter: 16 (3rd quarter, December 20, 2005 vs. Dallas Mavericks). [42]
  • Three-point field goals made
  • All-time: 815 (1996–present) [43]
  • Game: 12 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics). [44]
  • Half: 8 (1st half, March 28, 2003 vs. Washington Wizards). [45]
  • Quarter: 6 (2nd quarter, January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle Supersonics). [46]
  • Without a miss, game: 7 (January 6, 2006 vs. Philadelphia 76ers). [47]
  • Consecutive: 9 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics). [48]
  • Three-point field goals attempted
  • All-time: 2,426 (1996–present) [49]
  • All-time, playoffs: 410 (1996–present) [50]
  • Season: 518 (2005-06) [51]
  • Game: 18 (January 7, 2003 vs. Seattle SuperSonics). [52]
  • Steals
  • Half: 6 (tied with 3 players; February 13, 2006 vs. Utah Jazz). [53]
  • Quarter, playoffs: 3 (tied with 6 players; May 17, 1999 vs. San Antonio Spurs). [54]

[edit] Personal records

  • Second-most points scored in a regular season game in NBA history: 81 (January 22, 2006) (the most is 100 by Wilt Chamberlain).
  • Only player to score 30-plus points in a single quarter twice.
  • One of only two players in NBA history to score 80-plus points in a single game
  • One of only two players in NBA history to score 35-plus points per game for 13 consecutive games (the other is Wilt Chamberlain).
  • One of only three players in NBA history to score 40-plus points per game for 9 consecutive games (the others are Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan).
  • One of only three players in NBA history to score 45-plus points per game for 4 consecutive games (the others are Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain), and the first to accomplish it since Chamberlain, who did it in November of 1964.
  • One of only three players in NBA history to average 40-plus points per game for an entire month at least once (the others are Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor)
  • One of only two players in NBA history to average 40-plus points per game for an entire month on three separate occasions (40.6 ppg in February 2003, 43.4 ppg in January 2006 , 40.1 in April 2006) (the other is Wilt Chamberlain).
  • Only player in NBA history with at least 2,800 points and 180 three-point field goals made in one season.
  • One of only four players in NBA history to score 60-plus points in a single game while playing less than 40 minutes (the other three are Jerry West, George Gervin, and Karl Malone).
  • 13 50 point games

[edit] Other awards and achievements

  • 1996 Naismith High School Player of the Year [55]
  • 1996 Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year [55]
  • 1996 McDonald's High School All-American [55]
  • 1996 USA Today All-USA First Team [55]
  • 1995 Adidas ABCD Camp Senior MVP [55]
  • Named to the USA Today All-Time All-USA First Team in 2003. [55]
  • USA Today and Parade Magazine's 1996 National High School Player of the Year with a seasonal average of 30.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.9 blocks per game. [56]
  • Led Lower Merion High School to a 31-3 record, including 27 straight wins, and the PIAA Class AAAA state title as a senior (1996).[56]
  • The all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania school history with 2,883 points. [56]

[edit] Trivia

In order to meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article's trivia section requires cleanup.
Content in the trivia section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant/bio.html
  2. ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3129989/
  3. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2421874
  4. ^ http://www.nba.com/suns/news/reporters_notebook.html
  5. ^ http://www.eonline.com/On/Holly/Shows/Bryant/facts.html
  6. ^ http://www.eonline.com/On/Holly/Shows/Bryant/facts.html
  7. ^ http://www.eonline.com/On/Holly/Shows/Bryant/facts.html
  8. ^ http://allstarz.hollywood.com/kobe/vanessa02.htm
  9. ^ http://www.eonline.com/On/Holly/Shows/Bryant/facts.html
  10. ^ http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/shaq%20is%20a%20dad%20six%20minutes%20after%20kobe_02_05_2006
  11. ^ http://www.probasketballnews.com/friedman_0314.html
  12. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=50pointsinagame&prov=st&type=lgns
  13. ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/triple_doubles.html
  14. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant
  15. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant
  16. ^ http://mamba.kb24.com
  17. ^ http://mamba.kb24.com
  18. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/records/regular_3ptfg.html
  19. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/records/regular_3ptfg.html
  20. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230107013
  21. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=251220013&period=3
  22. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/records/regular_freethrows.html
  23. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=251220013&period=3
  24. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/records/regular_freethrows.html
  25. ^ http://www.hoopshype.com/players/kobe_bryant.htm
  26. ^ http://www.nba.com/history/allstar/individual_records.html
  27. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260122013
  28. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260122013
  29. ^ http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=261130013
  30. ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20060504/PHXLAL/playbyplay.html
  31. ^ http://mamba.kb24.com/
  32. ^ http://www.nba.com/games/20060416/PHXLAL/recap.html
  33. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230223013
  34. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=260122013&period=0
  35. ^ http://www.lakerstats.com/records/indreg.php?category=fgm
  36. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=260122013&period=0
  37. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=260131018
  38. ^ http://www.lakerstats.com/records/indreg.php?category=ftm
  39. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=251220013&period=3
  40. ^ http://www.lakerstats.com/records/indplayoffs.php?category=ftm
  41. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260122013
  42. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=251220013&period=3
  43. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant
  44. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230107013
  45. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230328013
  46. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=230107013&period=2
  47. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260106013
  48. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230107013
  49. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant
  50. ^ http://www.lakerstats.com/records/careerplayoffs.php?category=3pta
  51. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant
  52. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230107013
  53. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260213013
  54. ^ http://www.lakerstats.com/records/indplayoffs.php?category=steals
  55. ^ a b c d e f Fact sheet HoopsHype.com (accessed May 17, 2006)
  56. ^ a b c Biograhy NBA.com (accessed May 17, 2006)
  57. ^ http://www.prwatch.org/node/4180

[edit] See also

Los Angeles Lakers 2001-02 NBA Champions

2 Fisher | 3 George | 5 Horry | 8 Bryant | 10 Hunter | 14 Medvedenko | 17 Fox | 20 Shaw | 23 Richmond | 34 O'Neal (Finals MVP) | 35 Madsen | 52 Walker | Coach Jackson

Los Angeles Lakers 2000-01 NBA Champions

2 Fisher | 3 George | 4 Harper | 5 Horry | 8 Bryant | 10 Lue | 17 Fox | 20 Shaw | 34 O'Neal (Finals MVP) | 35 Madsen | 40 Foster | 54 Grant | Coach Jackson

Los Angeles Lakers 1999-2000 NBA Champions

Bryant | Fisher | Fox | George | Green | Harper | Horry | Knight | O'Neal (Finals MVP) | Rice | Salley | Shaw | Coach Jackson


Preceded by
Allen Iverson		 NBA All-Star Game
Most Valuable Player
2002		 Succeeded by
Kevin Garnett
Preceded by
Allen Iverson		 National Basketball Association
Scoring champion
2005-06		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Persondata
NAME Bryant, Kobe Bean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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