Biography

Kobe Bryant Biography (Basketball– United States): Early Life, Career, Family, Wife, Kids, Girlfriend, Awards, Achievements, Records, Social Media

Kobe Bryant Biography: Kobe Bryant born on 28th August 1978 is a former American basketball player who died in a helicopter crash along with seven others and his daughter, Gianna on 26th January 2020 while flying over Calabasas, California. He is the most influential and highly recognized basketball player who won five NBA championships in his 20 years of basketball career with the Los Angeles Lakers and two gold medals in the Summer Olympics of 2008 and 2012 representing the national team of the USA. Kobe played for the Lakers as a shooting guard and became the first guard to play 20 seasons. He also holds two MVP in NBA-Finals and was regarded as the 2008 Most Valuable Player of the NBA. Kobe started his NBA career in 1996 with the Lakers and announced his retirement in 2016 after facing several injuries.

Full NameKobe Bean Bryant
BirthplacePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of Birth28th August 1978
DiedAge 41, 26 January 2020
Height198cm
NicknameThe Black Mamba
ParentKoe Bryant (father) Pamela Cox Bryant (mother)
Spouse/RelationshipVanessa Laine (Ex-Wife)
KidsNatalia, Gianna Maria-Onore, Bianka Bella Bryant, Capri Kobe Bryant (daughters)
SportBasketball

Let’s dive deep into Kobe Bryant’s life and talk about Kobe Bryant’s Biography.

Kobe Bryant Biography

Kobe Bryant’s Early Life

Kobe was the third child in the family after two elder siblings. He was born on 28th August 1978 in a Catholic sport blood family with his father, Koe Bryant being a former NBA player, and Pamela Coz Bryant (mother). He was highly manifested by the basketball sport getting inspired by his father and uncle who played NBA. Kobe started practicing the sport from the age of three and moved to Italy after his father’s retirement at the age of six.

Los Angeles Lakers were the dearest for Kobe and started practicing the sport dedicatedly from the age of six while living in Reggio Emilia. At starting, he practiced the sport taking lessons from his grandfather and NBA videos. To take part in the Basketball Summer League, he returned to Philadelphia along with his family and took admission at Bala Cynwyd Middle School. He played for Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, and soon became the basketball champion of the high school. 

While representing the basketball team as a freshman, he came under huge recognition for his highly skilled performance. He was invited by different college recruiters of Duke, North Carolina, etc. for his unbelievable performance for the college team in the junior year with 31.1 ppg and being adjudged as the Pennsylvania Player of the Year. With Kobe, his college team grabbed their first state championship after struggling constantly for 53 years. 

In his school career, he became the leading scorer on the high school level with 2,883 points in total. His performance was awarded Naismith High School Player of the Year and grabbed the attention of NBA recruiters becoming the 6th NBA player to do so. In the 1996 draft, he was included in the team of Charlotte Hornets.

Also Read:- Michael Jordan’s Biography.

Kobe Bryant’s Career

  • Kobe was signed with Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 draft but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
  • During his first season with the Lakers, he was benched most of the time but became the youngest NBA starter player to play a match in NBA. As a rookie of the NBA, he also became the youngest slam dunk champion aged 18. In the season, the Lakers were conquered by Utah Jazz in the conference semi-finals.
  • With an extraordinary performance in the first season, the Lakers extended his opportunities providing him an increase in appearances. In the season, Kobe became the youngest All-Star starter and doubles his scores with 15.4 ppg becoming the player to score the highest ppg as a non-starter in the season.
  • In the 1998-1999 NBA season, the Lakers were defeated in the conference semi-finals by San Antonio Spurs but Kobe emerged as the highly skilled and successful shooting guard. Before the season, he signed a contract with the Lakers for being a part of with team for six years with $70 million worth.
  • He was shelved for half a year before the starting of the NBA 1999-200 season for getting injured in his hand. Kobe returned as a fortune player along with O’Neil for the Los Angeles Lakers defeating Portland Trail Blazers in the Conference finals and reaching the NBA finals to fight against Indiana Pacers. In the finals, Kobe scored the winning shot securing the NBA championship for the Lakers after 12 years.
  • Kobe had an astonishing performance in 2000-2001 becoming NBA All-Star for the third time, All-NBA Defensive Team, an All-NBA Second Team for the second time in a row. His performance led the Lakers to their 2nd NBA championship defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA finals.
  • In the 2001-2002 season, Kobe had a manifesting performance and secured All-Star MVP Trophy with a 46.9% shooting percentage. Kobe was suspended from playing matches after getting in a fight with the player of Indiana Pacers, Reggie Miller in a playoff match. In the season, the Lakers secured their third NBA championship in a row, and Kobe becoming the youngest player to secure three NBA championships.
  • Lakers performed astonishingly in the 2002-2003 playoffs but unfortunately were defeated in the Conference Semi-Finals by the San Antonio Spurs.
  • Before the beginning of the 2003-2004 NBA season, Kobe was arrested in a sexual assault case filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee. Kobe’s absence led to the suffering of the Lakers, they were defeated in the NBA finals by Detroit Pistons.
  • After the season, O’Neil was traded to Miami Heat and Kobe resigned a contract with Los Angeles Lakers for seven years after rejected the offer with Los Angeles Clippers.
  • In the 2004-2005 NBA season, Kobe faced his career’s extreme downfall after not qualifying for the playoffs. During the season, he was greatly criticized for the instances that occurred in the previous year.
  • Kobe astonished everyone with his performance in the next NBA season. The Lakers reached the First Round but were defeated by Phoenix. He scored 81, the second-highest points game after Chamberlains 100 points game in NBA history. In the season, he became the first player to eclipse the score of 45 points for the consequent four games. He was adjudged the league’s scoring title for his high skilled performance.
  • Similar to the previous season, Kobe secured his second scoring title and the Lakers were wiped out by Phoenix in the First Round. In the season, he finished the season with eclipsing 50 points in 10 games becoming the second player of Chamberlain to do so.
  • Kobe won his fourth NBA championship in the NBA season of 2008-2009 securing ALL-NBA Defensive First Team and All-NBA First Team for the seventh time in his entire career. The Lakers defeated Orlando Magic in the NBA finals winning five games against them and Kobe secured his first NBA finals MVP with an average of 32.4 ppg.
  • In the next season, the Lakers secured their fifth NBA championship paving their way viciously through the playoffs. The Lakers conquered Boston Celtics and Kobe making a 6 pointer to win the game. In the season, he became the youngest NBA player to eclipse the mark of 25,000 points surpassing the NBA champion, Chamberlain.
  • The same year, he signed a contract for three seasons with the Lakers for $87 million.
  • The next NBA seasons were a low pace in Kobe’s career, he was unfortunate to grab any NBA championship to equalize the numbers with Michael Jordan. Further, he faced many injuries which resulted in Kobe’s retirement from NBA in 2016.
Kobe Bryant Biography

Also Read:- Julius Erving’s Biography.

Kobe Bryant’s Family

  • Kobe was born in a Catholic family of three children to Kobe Bryant (father) and Pamela Cox Bryant (mother).
  • His father was a former NBA player and took retirement from the championship at the age of 30.
  • He was the third child and the only son to Joe Bryant after Sharia and Shaya.

Kobe Bryant’s Wife and Kids

  • Kobe married Vanessa Laine on 18th April 2001 without the approval of his parents and family members.
  • The couple is blessed with four daughters, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri.
  • Kobe and Laine announced their divorce in December 2011 with shared custody of their daughters.
Kobe Bryant Biography

Kobe Bryant’s Brand Endorsements

  • Nike.
  • Sprite.
  • McDonald’s.
  • Mercedes-Benz.
  • Lenovo.
  • Hublot.
  • Turkish Airlines.

Kobe Bryant’s Awards and Achievements

  • NBA Championship (5 times) – 2000, 2001,2002,2009,2010.
  • NBA MVP – 2008.
  • NBA All-Star (18 times).
  • NBA Slam Dunk Champion – 1997.
  • NBA Finals MVP (2 times) – 2009, 2010.
  • Basketball Hall of Fame – 2020.
  • Summer Olympics (2 times) – Gold in 2008, Gold in 2012.
Kobe Bryant Biography

Kobe Bryant’s Records

  • In 2006, he scored the 2nd highest points in a game with 81 points.
  • He is the only player to be adjudged with Best NBA Player ESPY Award Winner twice.
  • Kobe is the youngest NBA player to make 1,000 NBA appearances and also secure three NBA championships.
  • In his first season with the Lakers, he became the youngest player to win the Slam Dunk Contest.
  • He holds the most points in NBA as a guard with 33,643 points.

Kobe Bryant’s Social Media

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