Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. He spent 20 years as a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, known for his strong defense, impressive vertical leap, and clutch scoring ability in critical moments. Often considered the top player of the 2000s, Kobe’s impact on the game remains significant.
Born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe had two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, was also a professional basketball player. Kobe attended Lower Merion High School, where he excelled in basketball and earned honors such as the Naismith High School Player of the Year.
Opting to skip college, Kobe entered the 1996 NBA Draft, stating that if he had attended college, he would have chosen Duke University. He was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets but was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac. Kobe was 17 at the time of the draft and turned 18 before the start of his rookie NBA season.
Kobe Bryant Stats
Kobe Bryant spent 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, appearing in 1,346 regular-season games with averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. He was selected to 18 All-Star games, won 1 MVP award, 2 Finals MVP awards, and 5 NBA championships. Bryant was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.
Kobe Bryant Facts
Kobe was the first guard to be drafted by the NBA out of high school.
Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers his entire professional career.
He was the youngest player to start an NBA game.
Kobe's mom's brother, John Cox, also played in the NBA.
He was named after the Japanese steak "kobe".
His middle name is Bean.
He spent a lot of his childhood in Italy where his father played professional basketball. He learned how to speak Italian and played a lot of soccer.
Kobe Bryant Achievements
Kobe scored 81 points in an NBA game, which is the second most points scored in a single game.
He holds the record for the most career points scored by a Los Angeles Laker.
He is the youngest player to score 26,000 career points. He actually held a lot of the "youngest" records in the NBA, but LeBron James is catching him in many categories.
Kobe was the NBA scoring champion in 2006 and 2007.
He was selected to the All-NBA Team fifteen times and the All-Defensive Team twelve times.
At the time of the writing of this article he was third on the all-time NBA scoring list.
Kobe won 5 NBA championships with the LA Lakers. The first 3 championships were early on in his career (2000-2002). All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal was his teammate at the time. After Shaq was traded, it took some time for the Lakers to rebuild, but they won two more championships, one in 2009 and another in 2010.
His high school team won the state championship his senior year.
He won two Olympic Gold medals for basketball in 2008 and 2012.
He was the NBA slam dunk champion in 1997.
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