KOBE BRYANT 24

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and formerLos Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant.^[3] He is also the maternal nephew of John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. Bryant was raised Roman Catholic. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to begin playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and his favorite team growing up was the Lakers. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study. At an early age he also learned to play soccer; his favorite team is AC Milan. He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player Bryant is a big fan of former FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and their former player Ronaldinho. Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.

Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. As a freshman, he played for the varsity (junior and senior) basketball team.^[17] His father coached him his sophomore year of high school. Although during his first year the team was mediocre, the following three years the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions.^[17] At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award,^[18] while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom.^[19] While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA First Team player. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates".In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to her senior prom,^[24] though the two were, and remain, just friends. His SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges. Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA, only the sixth player in NBA history to do so.Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players was not very common (Kevin Garnett being the only exception in 20 years) Bryant has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country.^[1] He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals led to O'Neal's departure following the 2003–04 season. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Edwards, Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify,^[2] and Bryant had to rebuild his image while becoming the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process.^[3] In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history,^[4] second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance.^[4] In the 2007–08 season, he was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP).^[5] After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions.^[6]

Bryant currently ranks fourth and seventh on the league's post-season scoring and all-time scoring lists, respectively. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been held with thirteen All-Star appearances, winning the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011). He is a twelve-time member of the All-NBAteam and ten-time All-Defensive team, and is the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the USA national team.^[7] In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade